Cartoons of the Week

Peter Broelman

David Rowe

Cathy Wilcox

 

Quote of the Week

 

' Neil Mitchell: "Have you ever told a lie in public life?"

Scott Morrison: "I don't believe I have, no. No." '

[sound of Prime Minister's laughter]

[Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in a 3WA radio interview with Neil Mitchell on 12 November 2021]

Cartoons of the Week

 

Cathy Wilcox

David Pope

David Rowe

Tweet of the Year

 

I ask French President Emmanuel Macron whether Scott Morrison lied to him: “I don’t think, I know.” pic.twitter.com/3tcg4xrl90

— Bevan Shields (@BevanShields) October 31, 2021

 

Sixteen days before the Morrison Government signed the Australia-United Kingdom-United States of America (AUKUS) pact, Morrison & Co formalised another set of diplomatic, economic, international & regional security undertaking with France. Here are all 22 points....

 

When on 16 September 2021 Australian Prime Minister and Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison announced the15 September AUKUS pact, a new 'enhanced' trilateral security partnership with the United Kingdom and United States of America along with the cancellation of a submarine fleet contract, it was barely seventeen days after he and his government had signed off on the 22 point undertakings in the 30 August Inaugural Australia-France 2+2 Ministerial Consultations. 

It is no wonder that France is feeling betrayed. The very existence of AUKUS put into doubt every line of this inaugural ministerial agreement spanning five decades.

 

 A fact that the French Government recognises when it speaks of the need to redefine its relationship with Australia.

No less a person than one of the signatories to the Australia-France inaugural ministerial agreement, Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, firmly denies there had been any advance consultations with France ahead of Morrison's announcement.

The French Ambassador to Australia, Jean-Pierre Thebault, in a 43 minute speech at the National Press Club on 3 November 2021 clearly differentiated between the Australian people and their current federal Government. On one hand expressing a high regard for Australia and Australians and a polite contempt for a deceitful, untrustworthy Morrison Government and "certain aspects of the Canberra Bubble and its secret cities practices". He confirmed the French Government's firm belief it had been misled and openly lied to by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Inaugural Australia-France 2+2 Ministerial Consultations

Joint statement with:

• Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France
• Florence Parly, Minister for the Armed Forces of France
• The Hon Peter Dutton MP, Minister for Defence of Australia

30 August 2021

1 - At the inaugural Australia-France Foreign and Defence (2+2) Ministerial Consultations, Ministers reflected on the strength of our strategic partnership, in promoting an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region and a rules-based international order that underpins long-term security and prosperity.

2 - These discussions built on Prime Minister Morrison's official visit to Paris in June 2021, at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron, where the two leaders agreed on common bilateral, regional and global priorities.

3 - Ministers reaffirmed the shared values, interests and principles that underpin the bilateral relationship, as reflected in the Joint Statement of Enhanced Strategic Partnership between Australia and France, and the Vision Statement on the Australia-France Relationship. They agreed to publish a report on the Australia-France initiative (AFiniti) to highlight the depth and breadth of cooperative activities.

4 - Ministers reaffirmed the importance of regional cooperation to overcome the health and economic impacts of COVID-19 and its Delta variant in the Indo-Pacific, and agreed to continue to support regional countries' responses, including through the timely and equitable distribution of safe and effective vaccines to enable comprehensive coverage across the Pacific and globally as soon as possible. They reaffirmed their common support to the ACT Accelerator and to the COVAX facility towards reaching this goal, including through vaccine dose-sharing commitments and increasing production capacities.

5 - Ministers highlighted the importance of strengthening the immediate global response to address climate change and environmental degradation. They recommitted to the full implementation of the Paris Agreement and to intensify global action in the lead up to COP26 to decarbonize their economies, pursue collaboration on renewable energies and achieve a fair transition. Ministers especially welcomed collaboration on zero and low emissions technologies, including hydrogen, and looked forward to further investments in the clean energy transition. They also reaffirmed their determination to reach an ambitious framework on biodiversity protection at COP 15 to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

6 - Both sides committed to counter efforts to exploit the COVID-19 crisis to advance geopolitical ambitions, including by addressing escalations in foreign interference, disinformation and malicious cyber activity. Australia and France will cooperate further to apply international law to digital technologies by developing common rules securing stronger and more stable infrastructure against cyber-attacks. Ministers committed to promoting economic openness and opposing coercive economic practices, which undermine rules-based international trade.

7 - Australia and France agreed to cooperate to uphold the integrity of the multilateral system and protect international rules, norms and values. Ministers committed to ensure multilateral institutions are fit-for-purpose, open and transparent, accountable to member states and free from undue influence and politicisation. They reaffirmed their continued engagement within the Alliance for Multilateralism launched by France and Germany.

8 - Both sides agreed to work together to promote their shared democratic principles and defend the universality of human rights.

International and Regional Security

9 - As partners committed for many years to helping Afghanistan build its future, Ministers expressed concern at the deepening humanitarian crisis. They condemned in the strongest possible terms the attacks carried out on 26 August and joined their Afghan, US and UK friends in mourning their terrible loss. Both sides called on the Taliban to cease all violence against civilians and respect international humanitarian law and the human rights all Afghans are entitled to, including women and girls. They called on the Taliban to fulfil their commitment to allow for the safe and unhindered departure of Afghans and foreign citizens who wish to leave the country, including after 31 August 2021. Both sides strongly supported the international community's statements of 29 August and 15 August, and agreed that any future Afghan government must adhere to Afghanistan's international obligations and commit to protect against terrorism; safeguard the human rights of all Afghans, particularly women, children, and ethnic and religious minorities; uphold the rule of law; allow unhindered and unconditional humanitarian access; and counter human and drug trafficking effectively. Ministers called on all parties in Afghanistan to work in good faith to establish a genuinely inclusive and representative government, including with the meaningful participation of women and minority groups.

10 - Ministers discussed opportunities for closer cooperation on the implementation of their respective Indo-Pacific strategies, including in the context of the updated French strategic framework for the Indo-Pacific. They welcomed the willingness of the European Union to strengthen its participation in regional fora and its role as a cooperative partner to contribute to the stability, security, prosperity and sustainable development of the region in the framework of the upcoming European Union Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

11 - Ministers underscored the importance of the strong and enduring commitment of other partners, including the United States, and Indo-Pacific partners in upholding an open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific in accordance with international law. They reaffirmed the importance of ASEAN centrality and the critical role of ASEAN-led fora, which sit at the apex of the regional architecture, in promoting peace, stability, security and prosperity. They affirmed their support for the principles of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and to progressing practical cooperation under its four priority areas.

12 - Both sides voiced serious concerns about the situation in the South China Sea. Ministers expressed their strong opposition to destabilising or coercive actions that could increase tensions and called for all disputes to be resolved in a peaceful manner in accordance with international law, particularly the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. They reaffirmed the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight consistent with international law and agreed to closer maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, including through future joint transits.

13 - Ministers underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues. They expressed support for Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organisations, in accordance with the organisations' statutes, to strengthen global cooperation on relevant issues.

14 - Ministers expressed grave concerns about credible reports of severe human rights abuses against persons belonging to Uyghur and other Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang and about the erosion of Hong Kong's autonomy and freedoms. Ministers renewed their call for China to grant urgent, meaningful and unfettered access to Xinjiang for independent international observers, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

15 - Ministers underscored their serious concerns about the crisis in Myanmar, including the rapidly deteriorating COVID-19 situation, and its implications for regional stability. They called on the military regime in Myanmar to immediately end the violence, cease measures to curtail freedom of expression, release all those arbitrarily detained and revert the country back to its democratic path. Ministers welcomed the appointment of the Minister of Foreign Affairs II of Brunei Darussalam as the ASEAN Chair's Special Envoy on Myanmar, stressed the need for a political dialogue inclusive of all relevant parties and urged the Myanmar military to engage with ASEAN to implement the “Five Point Consensus” fully and swiftly.

16 - Australia and France reaffirmed their commitment to trilateral cooperation with India on maritime safety and security, marine and environmental issues, and multilateral engagement. They commended India's prominent role in the Indian Ocean. Ministers agreed to work closely in regional fora, including the Indian Ocean Rim Association and the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, to foster cooperation and ensure Indian Ocean regional architecture has the capacity to address regional challenges.

17 - Ministers underscored the importance of promoting dialogue with Pacific Islands countries as recalled during the 5th France-Oceania Summit, held virtually on 19 July 2021. Ministers noted that as a Pacific nation, France brings a unique perspective to our region while amplifying the Pacific's priorities on the global stage. They agreed to support Pacific Island countries' development and resilience, particularly through coordinated projects, including on critical infrastructure. They also agreed to hold a biennial ministerial meeting on the Pacific with the Foreign Affairs and International Development and Pacific Ministers for Australia and the Foreign Affairs and Overseas Ministers for France. They reaffirmed their continued commitment to providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to our Pacific family in times of need, notably through the France-Australia-New Zealand (FRANZ) partnership, under France's chairmanship for the next two years. Ministers agreed to enhance military interoperability, in support of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, including through exercises Croix du Sud, Equateur and Marara.

Bilateral cooperation

18 - Australia and France welcomed the growing defence relationship and discussed practical ways to strengthen military-to-military cooperation. Ministers welcomed Australia's support for France's participation in Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023, having contributed observers to this year's exercise. Australia will work with the US and France to determine the size and scope of France's participation.

19 - Ministers agreed to begin negotiations on enhancing and diversifying France's military cooperation with Australia, in support of France's force posture in the region. The negotiations demonstrate Australia and France's shared commitment to a secure, stable and inclusive Indo-Pacific, in line with France's 2021 Indo-Pacific Strategy and Australia's 2020 Defence Strategic Update. Ministers committed to developing the concept for decision by their governments in the first quarter of 2022.

20 - Australia and France agreed to closer cooperation on military exercises in all three services, including exercises La Perouse, Peronne and Pitch Black, and regular information exchanges. They underscored the importance of enhanced cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and endorsed efforts underway to develop a regional plan for closer cooperation between the Australian Defence Force and French Armed Forces in New Caledonia (FANC) and French Polynesia (FAPF). Ministers discussed expanding operational-level cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. Both sides undertook to strengthen their support for Pacific Island countries, in particular through the Western Pacific Naval Symposium and the Pacific Quadrilateral Dialogue in order to enhance participating countries' naval capabilities and support maritime surveillance operations.

21 - Both sides committed to deepen defence industry cooperation and enhance their capability edge in the region. Ministers underlined the importance of the Future Submarine program. They agreed to strengthen military scientific research cooperation through a strategic partnership between the Defence Science and Technology Group and the Directorate General for Armaments.

22 - Ministers agreed to deepen space cooperation, including on the operational management of the space domain and space capabilities, including space science and technology research. They agreed to actively work together in international fora to further promote norms of responsible behaviour in space.

23 - Both countries underscored the importance of building more secure, reliable and sustainable supply chains in critical minerals, including rare earths. With this in mind, the Ministers have established a Critical Mineral Dialogue which would provide a strong basis to support Australia and France's strategic, low carbon and economic security ambition.

24 - Ministers recalled the close and long-standing collaboration of our countries in Antarctica, including our engagement in the Antarctic Treaty system and in Antarctic science and research.

25 - Ministers agreed to hold the next Australia-France 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations in 2022.

Media enquiries

• Minister's office: (02) 6277 7500

• DFAT Media Liaison: (02) 6261 1555

Team Morrison and The Voter in 2021

 

The Shot, 21 September 2021:

Great Scott: the grand narrative of Scott Morrison

...On one end of the scale, we have the people who believe the entire charade of politics is made up and if it’s not made up then the “mainstreameeja” must all be in on it with them, sort of like fake moon landers but without the flags. On the other end are the people who let information flow over them like a long shower, obliviously taking it all in, the type who truly believe Scott Morrison once saved a lady from near death on a Sydney beach because 2GB said so…..

What Team Morrison want you to think over and above anything else, above the policy and the pressers and the talk of Oh-My-God nuclear submarines and the twitter chatter, what they want you to think when you think of Scott Morrison, when you talk to your friends in the supermarket checkout or swap the goss in your Facebook groups, when you go to vote, they want you to think that Scott Morrison is a strong leader, a hero of our times. They want you to feel it and know it deep to your bones.

They want you to think that Scott Morrison is our own powerful leader, the one that will lead Australia out of this mess, and they want that image embedded deep down into your subconscious, without any annoying detail to bother you or meddle with your own private photo album.

How they do that is by casting a vast, barely tangible net up into the sky, a grand narrative net, one that says: “Scott Morrison is strong. Scott Morrison is a hero. Scott Morrison will save you.”

The way they keep that imagery afloat is by pumping it full of air and reinforcing it all the time, constantly, every day of every week of every month in every way. Scott is strong. Scott is our hero. Scott will lead us all to safety.

Think of Scott Morrison holding up a plane in Kabul to save a woman and her baby. Or at least that’s what the Daily Telegraph told us. I’m going to ignore the dry retching noises coming from the audience, you ungrateful cynics. What’s that? It didn’t happen? Of course, it didn’t happen.

Sometimes, the truth has nothing to do with pumping the net up. Sometimes it does. As De Niro snaps in Wag The Dog,“What difference does it make if it’s true?” If you learn anything from our imaginary TED Talk, learn that reality, like detail, has no real place in the political grand narrative…...

The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 September 2021:

Scott Morrison’s momentous national security announcement last week should have been a turning point for him and the government. Instead, because he delayed making one tough call, leaving himself open to accusations of backstabbing and deception from a great friend and ally, he robbed himself of a much-needed reset.

A few days later he again squibbed what should have been a straightforward decision involving a senior colleague, on a matter which goes to the heart of transparency and probity.

The way Scott Morrison dealt with the French, and Christian Porter, says much about his management style.CREDIT:DIONNE GAIN

Both were about trust. Both provided insights into the most troubling aspects of Morrison’s character and management style. Both have left a very bad smell.

The first was the big-bang unveiling of the new Anglospheric alliance – upending decades of diplomatic endeavours in Asia – which included the planned acquisition of nuclear submarines from the US or the UK.

By waiting until the night before the announcement to advise President Emmanuel Macron (Morrison’s office refuses to answer when asked if they actually spoke) he was torpedoing the $90-billion contract with France for conventional submarines, he guaranteed they went nuclear.

The second sounded like a transmission from a parallel universe. Morrison presented Christian Porter’s resignation from Cabinet as industry minister after refusing to disclose names of anonymous donors as the action of a man upholding standards.

At the end of March, Morrison could have, should have, relegated Porter to the backbench until his personal problems were resolved, rather than try to maintain the fiction the issue was fixed by his removal as attorney-general.

The fiction was compounded after Porter released his updated register of interests, then said he could not name donors to a blind trust helping pay the costs of his defamation suit against the ABC and journalist Louise Milligan over the airing of historic rape allegations, which Porter vehemently denied.

Desperate to get some clear air for his major strategic announcement, soon befouled by the French, Morrison had tried to buy time by asking his department head, Phil Gaetjens, to advise on the bleeding obvious – whether Porter had conformed with the ministerial code of conduct.

Then on Sunday afternoon, without waiting for Gaetjens, Morrison hastily called a press conference to announce Porter had upheld those standards by opting to resign from the ministry.

He could have, should have, said Porter’s actions did not conform to the high standards expected of a member of his government and sacked him. But he didn’t. He also said Porter had disclosed the amount he had received. He hadn’t.

Incredibly, when asked whether Porter should remain in Parliament while in receipt of the money (given the disclosure rules which apply to all parliamentarians, requiring them to fess up to everything including freebie footy tickets), Morrison protested that had nothing to do with him because he was no longer Porter’s boss.

Of course. He is only the Prime Minister, the leader of the government and the leader of the Liberal Party…..

The Australian, Newspoll, 19 September 2021:

Prime Minister Scott Morrison caught out in yet another lie about Australia's closed national border

“Australia's borders were slammed shut in March last year as the coronavirus spread across the world, with the federal government trying to take advantage of the nation's island geography to safeguard it from the worst of the deadly virus. In an interview with News Corp, Mr Morrison said he did not believe Australians had an "appetite" for opening borders if it meant having to deal with more coronavirus outbreaks, lockdowns and social restrictions. "We have to be careful not to exchange that way of life for what everyone else has," he said. In a later post on Facebook, he warned borders would only be opened "when it is safe to do so". [ABC News, 9 May 2021]

“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has revealed more than 36,000 Australians remain stranded overseas with 4,860 considered vulnerable.…...In September, Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised to get as many people as possible on the list home by Christmas.” [AAP General News Wire, 24 March 2021]

If one reads the aforementioned quotes it would seem that Australia has had an all but impenetrable border since the COVID-19 global pandemic began and, that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has made it his priority to repatriate his fellow citizens stranded overseas by travel restrictions.

Then as the country braces for what is feared will be a widespread outbreak of a highly infectious SARS-Cov-2 variant*, this appears in the media - revealing that after being thwarted by the National Cabinet in his desire to open the national border at the earliest opportunity Morrison then found an underhand way of doing so. 

Note: * the Delta variant of SARS-Cov-2 which causes a highly infectious form of COVID-19 came into this country via an infected overseas traveller.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 July 2021, excerpt:

The data obtained by the Herald and The Age is collated from incoming passenger cards and is designed to capture the main reason for the journey for both visitors arriving and residents returning to Australia. The government publishes the data online.

During April, 2226 cards listed the passengers’ reason for arriving as “business, conferences or exhibitions”.

In the same month, 8067 cards listed “visiting family or friends” and “taking a holiday” as the reason for travel. The number was down from its peak last December when there were 10,536 arrivals for those reasons in the lead up to the Christmas holidays.

Employment was given as the reason for 5200 passenger movements while 817 of the April arrivals were for education.

Seventy two people were “attending a conference” in April – marking 533 total trips for conferences made since July last year.

The Herald excluded travellers from New Zealand from the statistics, which accounted for many of the 53,872 arrivals recorded in April…..

It was revealed by the Queensland government that its latest outbreak spawned from an unvaccinated traveller allowed to “come and go repeatedly” between Australia and Indonesia, doing multiple stints in hotel quarantine.

Meanwhile, in South Australia, the ABC reported authorities allowed a family to fly in from Indonesia on a privately funded medevac flight after testing positive for the highly infectious Delta strain.

The data shows 2400 arrivals were citizens of the UK, 1900 were citizens of China, 1400 were citizens of India and 1100 were US citizens.

“Thousands of people are being allowed to travel here who are not stranded Aussies,” Mr Miles said.

“In addition to the non-Australians returning, every month about 40,000 Australian citizens and about 6000 permanent visa holders are allowed to leave the country.

“Many of them seek to return. Rejoining the queue, going back through hotel quarantine, putting our community at risk.”

However, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews accused the Queensland government of misrepresenting the data.

“The data from the Australian Border Force sets out very clearly that, on average, 80 per cent of returning travellers to Australia are either Australian citizens, permanent residents, or immediate family members,” she said.

She said Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was “arguing against her own travel to Tokyo” to attend the Olympics.

In response to questions about the infected traveller from Indonesia, Ms Andrews said the government was “going through a process of looking at” exemptions allowing people to make multiple trips despite the border closures.

However, she did not believe it was necessary to lower caps on overseas arrivals.

“It’s one of the issues that we have to deal with now, which is dealing with specific needs of our economy while at the same time making sure that we are able to bring in as many vulnerable people and return as many Australians as we possibly can,” she said.

According to the Australian Border Force, between March 2020 and the end of May this year, 156,507 Australian citizens and permanent residents were granted exemptions to depart Australia, while 84,031 requests were denied.

Over the same period 49,017 foreign nationals were granted an exemption to travel into Australia and 104,507 had their request denied.

“More than half of these approvals were for those proving a critical skill to Australia,” a Border Force spokesperson said.

A request may cover more than one person and individual travellers may have made multiple requests.

ABC News, 1 July 2021:

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has expressed his anger at the "large group of people" leaving Australia during the pandemic to travel overseas, some of whom he said had been enjoying foreign holidays.

Mr McGowan said 82 people had been on four overseas trips, while eight people had left five times and two people six times.

"In other words, there's a large group of people who have been overseas on multiple occasions. And every time they go overseas, they increase the risk," he said.

The Premier said many of those trips were unnecessary, and allowing people to go overseas was "the biggest [COVID] threat vector" Australia faced.

"People book a conference in Europe, and then have a holiday while they're over there, and then come back and join the queue," Mr McGowan said.

"It's just not right. We need to crack down on this."

He said it was time to limit the number of people allowed to travel internationally.

"I actually think there is a strong argument that before anyone can go overseas, they should be vaccinated, and then we should actually crack down hugely on the number of people allowed to go overseas." 

This is nuts!!! I must find a conference, I guess. ::sigh::#auspol #COVID19Aus #Quarantine
Figures from just WA. McGowan reported today. pic.twitter.com/NZ019AU4XD

— 🍩🍩CreatetheWorldYouWant🍩🍩 (@JL_Whitaker) July 1, 2021

 

COVID-19 Pandemic 2020-21: Morrison Government still not listening to the experts

 

The New Daily, 30 May 2021:

The numbers used by the federal government to defend the effectiveness of hotel quarantine are wrong, one of Australia’s leading epidemiologists has said.

The criticism comes amid growing calls for every state and territory to have a purpose-built facility, as new analysis shows purpose-built quarantine costs a fraction of the economic cost of lockdowns.

Last month Prime Minister Scott Morrison sought to downplay concerns Australia would keep yoyo-ing in and out of lockdown until issues in hotel quarantine were fixed.

“A system that is achieving 99.99 per cent effectiveness is a very strong system and is serving Australia very well,” Mr Morrison said.

“If I was to tell you [last year] that would achieve a 99.99 per cent success rate, you wouldn’t have believed me. No one in this country would have believed me. I would have found that hard to believe.”

But Mary-Louise McLaws, an infectious diseases expert at the University of New South Wales and member of the World Health Organisation’s COVID-19 response team, said the PM’s figure was wrong.

“I have no idea where it’s been plucked out of,” Professor McLaws told The New Daily.

Around 70 per cent of total cases since Australia closed its borders on March 20 last year have directly and indirectly come from quarantine breaches and exemptions, she said.

Approximately 21,000 people have been infected due to those breaches and exemption.

Professor McLaws said the Australian government needed to “turn 180 degrees and rethink” the quarantine system, to save itself money and protect its citizens.

“Lockdown costs $1billion a week for NSW or Victoria,” she said.

Pointing to the Northern Territory’s Howard Springs quarantine facility, which has not leaked a single case into the community, she said states need their own purpose-built facilities, not hotels.

“Victoria has estimated they could make a purpose-built for $700 million. That’s less than the cost of a one-week lockdown,” Professor McLaws said.

“In WA, they could make a 1000-bed facility that would cost between $80 million and $200 million – that’s still a fraction.

“So when people say this is too expensive, I say try $1 billion a week.”…..

News.com.au, 29 May 2021:

A Melbourne doctor has delivered a spray at the PM on national television as frustration boils over about the Government’s biggest headache.

Frontline emergency physician Dr Stephen Parnis took aim at Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday morning after Victoria was thrust into its fourth lockdown since the pandemic began.

He told the ABC that Victorians are “getting tired of hearing excuses” about things that “should have happened earlier this year, at least”.

He was referring to delays in the Covid-19 vaccine rollout and the Commonwealth’s slow take-up of advice to build a fit-for-purpose quarantine facility that does not involve placing infected people in hotel rooms.

“It’s taking too long,” Dr Parnis said. “It should have happened earlier this year, at least. We need to do it right now. [New quarantine facilities] has the same urgency as vaccinating our nursing home populations.

“We know that this virus has airborne transmission. We know that the best protocols will still not be foolproof in hotels that are designed for tourists. Each state and territory will have plans for these things. But they are waiting for the checks to come from Canberra and those checks have been delayed,” Dr Parnis said.

“That is unacceptable, I think, to the medical profession, and it should be unacceptable to the wider population.”

It is a sentiment shared by Melbourne GP Dr Vyom Sharma. He told news.com.au there is nowhere near enough being done to stop leaks from HQ.

“There are no nationally consistent guidelines for infection prevention and control,” he said.

“Different states have different standards for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) — some will use simple surgical masks when near travellers, others will use N95 respirators.

“Some states have performed ventilation audits and upgrades. Others either have not, or have not reported this publicly. This inconsistency risks further instances of airborne transmission within quarantine.”

He said staff working in medi-hotels are not being protected.

“Any staff within line of sight of a returned traveller should be wearing an N95 mask. That is a no brainer, and an instant fix — source the materials, fit test all staff.

“Also, and I can only hope this is the case in all states, make vaccination mandatory for all staff, and do not allow them on site until two weeks after the second dose.”

Dr Sharma said the problem was no going to disappear and that only fit-for-purpose accommodation would prevent more outbreaks.

“More leaks are inevitable if things stay the same. Only a fool would bet otherwise.”

The problem with using hotel quarantine to house overseas arrivals from Covid-19 hotspots was raised with the Prime Minister on Thursday after Acting Victorian Premier James Merlino revealed the holdup in building an broadacre facility was at a federal level.

“We are waiting on the green light in terms of going ahead,” he said in relation to a proposal to build such a facility at Avalon or Mickleham partly funded by both state and federal governments.

Mr Morrison said he was “highly favourable” of the Victorian plan but did not make a firm commitment.

Melbourne surgeon Dr Eric Levi expressed his frustration at Victoria being forced into another lockdown because quarantine issues had not been sorted.

“Let’s learn from this. AGAIN,” he wrote on Twitter.

“One person was Covid negative on multiple swabs, spent two weeks in hotel quarantine in Adelaide. Caught Covid from the room next door. Flew back to Melbourne. Tested positive.

Now thousands of primary and secondary contacts. One person in ICU.

“More than 150 exposure locations. And a state in lockdown. Again. It’s 16 months into the pandemic. Should we not have learned this last year. Can we fix upstream quarantine problems before it causes downstream catastrophe?

“Covid is airborne. Majority of those with Covid have no symptoms. By the time they know they’re positive, they’ve shared the virus with others. We now have vaccines to reduce transmission. New variants are emerging.”

Mr Merlino said expressions of interest had been sent out on Friday for the building of a facility at either Avalon or Mickleham, 30km and 56km from the CBD respectively.

But nothing will happen without the Morrison Government’s approval. It will have the final say.

“Both sites could work and that will ultimately, because these are both Commonwealth pieces of land, be the decision of the Commonwealth,” Mr Merlino said.