Shadow Minister for Health, Bill Yan, says Labor’s scrambled attempt to introduce new emergency powers lacks transparency and accountability.
“The Gunner Labor Government has today confirmed the current emergency health declaration will be extended for another 90 days. On top of that, Labor will introduce a Bill next week to extend the emergency powers of the Chief Health Officer (CHO) for another two years.
“This means that the emergency powers which enable the vaccine mandate, mask mandates, quarantine requirements and restrictions on free movement will remain for an additional two years after the state of emergency has ended. Labor’s attempt to grant the CHO unfettered powers through the Parliament needs serious scrutiny.
“The powers granted to the CHO under the Public and Environmental Health Act 2011 are limited to immediate serious public health risks – and for good reason; they are extraordinary powers. Labor is attempting to dodge accountability by carving out a whole new set of legislative powers for the CHO without having to justify them.
“When the Health Minister extends the state of emergency, she has to justify that extension. With this legislation, there is no Ministerial accountability for the next two years. Retaining the emergency powers when no state of emergency exists is evidence of Labor’s inability to govern with public confidence, relying instead on extreme control measures.
“In contrast to Labor’s dodgy extension of emergency powers, there is widespread industry and public support for the CLP’s plans, announced over a month ago, to introduce legislation at the next sittings which will ensure regular reporting from the CHO to Territorians.
“The CLP’s call for regular reporting is now more important than ever. We are yet to see the details of Labor’s legislative changes – but Territorians deserve more accountability, not less. Territorians are yet to see a single report from the Chief Health Officer which outlines his health advice and how Labor is implementing that advice, including why the Territory has remained in an extended emergency state, or why the CHO needs to retain emergency powers once it has ended.
“From peak medical bodies, to tourism, hospitality, and small business – the CLP has broad support for our amendments to the emergency health declaration to ensure Territorians have access to the evidence-based data and information around critical health decisions on a regular basis.
“The Chief Health Officer’s decision over the weekend to quietly change the goalposts so that Aboriginal people are no longer considered ‘vulnerable’ is another prime example of why the CLP’s amendments are so important. When did the health advice change? What advice did the Chief Health Officer provide to government and how was that advice implemented? There was certainly no public messaging on this major change.
“Under current laws, the CHO isn’t required to report to Parliament until three months after the end of the emergency declaration. The Opposition’s amendments will guarantee that the latest official health advice is made available to all members of Parliament, businesses, organisations and the public every three months – at a minimum – during the emergency declaration period, including any legislative extensions. It’s common sense,” said Mr Yan.
Nurses and Midwifery Federation NT Branch Secretary Cath Hatcher:
I fully support your proposal, to change the current legislation to include transparency and throughout the state of emergency the CHO and government to advise the public, at least every three months. Definitely not at the end of this emergency, if lasting longer than three months. The public have the right to know the decisions that are being made, the public need transparency, truth and being open with the plans to move forward. After all, these are human lives in play here.
Hospitality NT Chief Executive Officer, Alex Bruce
Regarding your proposed change requiring 90-day reports to be published for the remainder of the pandemic, we believe this would increase transparency and the ability to appropriately examine and understand measures taken by the NT Government as part of its COVID-19 response.
Our industry, amongst others, has borne one of the heaviest tolls from the pandemic in terms of lockdowns and lockouts, restrictions on trade, check in requirements, vaccine employment mandates, masks and the vaccine passport system. Many are also currently experiencing their worst trading conditions since the pandemic began.
There remains a lack of certainty and clarity about where the public health emergency and the Government’s response is taking our industry in this, our third year of the pandemic.
The need for greater transparency in public health decision making can be seen in the recent imposition of the 7-day outdoor mask mandate. Not only was this measure unique in the nation, but public health experts and officials in other jurisdictions were giving conflicting public statements as to the measure’s efficacy.
Ensuring greater transparency and understanding of public health restrictions, especially when our COVID advice is at odds with other similar jurisdictions, would be beneficial. Many in our industry would like to see greater clarity and relative and contextual comparative information included in the public updates that the NT Government provides.
Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer Greg Ireland:
We collectively support the need for increased transparency and consultation, industry has borne the brunt of many of these impacts and the unintended consequences could have been reduced if engagement had been increased.
Elevating the public understanding of the processes being implemented will result in greater confidence and clarity in the way forward which is vitally important for business and industry to prosper.
Master Builders Chief Executive Dave Malone:
We support the proposal for the CHO to provide a public report each three months during a public emergency. There are a number of reasons behind why we believe that this is a positive step.
- The cost to business from the COVID pandemic has been significant. We do acknowledge that business is not alone in this regard. Our community, and of course those affected directly by the virus, have felt those costs too. Setting in train regular reporting as suggested helps to maintain confidence in how an emergency is being managed, and importantly, greater acceptance of those costs and impacts.
- Anecdotally, our industry did lose an estimated 6% of our workforce following the vaccine mandate last year. That decision caused real tension between employers and employees and added to the risk within businesses. Again, a formal report from the CHO provides context and helps to generate greater acceptance of painful decisions.
- The original Act provided for a five day window for a public health emergency. It required the CHO to provide a Report at the conclusion of the emergency which makes sense given the short duration of the emergency. But COVID required a different approach, and that window was extended to three months by amendment. Waiting to the end of multi-year emergency like we see now for a report, does not seem to reflect accountable Government to us.
Extended public emergencies also generate a considerable amount of media comment and it is difficult for business and the community to understand why ‘experts’ might differ so much on the right policy decisions. A formal report from the CHO that sets the record straight would be a useful addition to that public discussion.
ENDS