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Anthony Albanese’s worthless inquiry into the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has this week delivered a report that tells us nothing we don’t already know. It validates One Nation’s demand for a Royal Commission.

It says human rights were “restricted” (read: violated). It says responses across jurisdictions were “varied” and that this “undermined public confidence and trust.”. It says these “differences were not easily explained, and no rationale was provided,” including “unilateral” state border closures that “lacked consistency and compassion.”.

The report argues for greater transparency in future pandemic responses while noting “economic, social, and mental health and human rights impacts were not always understood or considered” in 2020. Let’s say that again, with feeling: human rights were not considered.

The report—more than 800 pages—was critical of “control measures” implemented by the authorities without sufficient explanation, which “fed the perception that the government did not trust the public to understand or interpret the information correctly and contributed to the decrease in trust.”.

The report admitted that COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other public health restrictions had the biggest negative impact on trust: “The combination of mandatory measures and the perception people had that they were unable to criticise or question decisions and policies has contributed to non-mandated vaccination rates falling to dangerously low levels.”.

It’s nothing that One Nation wasn’t saying during the pandemic itself. That was the time to implement a coordinated, consistent approach. That was the time to act to protect human rights that were being routinely violated by state and territory authorities—not two years after the pandemic, but during the pandemic.

The report doesn’t name the premiers and chief ministers who were responsible for it, all of whom have since moved on except the ACT’s Andrew Barr. The report does nothing to reveal the ‘expert’ health advice that led to the lockdowns and mandates. As we said it would be, the report is essentially worthless, just like the enquiry that preceded it because it would hold no one accountable.

The Albanese government’s response is straight out of the Labor playbook: create another agency, in this case an Australian centre for disease control, at a cost of $251 million. More unelected bureaucrats and health ‘experts’ telling us what to do, funded with yet more taxpayers’ money. There’s no problem that Labor doesn’t think it can fix by spending even more of your money to create a new agency.

Centre for disease control? Why do we get the feeling that really means ‘centre for social and political control’?

Only a comprehensive Royal Commission into the management of the pandemic will have the power to compel the information that Australians have every right to see and hold to account the authorities and state and territory leaders who gleefully trampled all over the rights they had a duty to protect.

Australia was one of the most successful nations in its pandemic response, but an investigation by the independent COVID-19 Response Inquiry finds the country was not adequately prepared for a pandemic.

The Inquiry is a reminder of the incredible service and sacrifice of so many people, not just frontline workers, but every single person in Australia.

It was a time of great uncertainty and adversity. Thousands of Australians lost their lives. Borders were closed. Australians were asked to stay in their homes.

The Albanese Government believes we need to be transparent about how the response to COVID-19 was managed and learn the lessons to inform the management of future public health emergencies.

The independent Inquiry says Australia went into the pandemic with stretched health and aged care systems, no clear national management plan, and deficiencies in the National Medical Stockpile.

The Inquiry finds the economic response to the pandemic was critical in achieving the desired public health outcomes.

But mistakes were made, and those mistakes were costly, and inflationary.

Modelling cited in the report says peak inflation could have been reduced by at least 2 per cent if the economic policy settings during the pandemic had better matched the public health restrictions.

Global supply shocks contributed to substantial inflationary pressures in the Australian economy, but the impact was clearly compounded by some poor policy choices during the pandemic and its immediate aftermath.

The Inquiry found that trust in governments and in science has waned as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the responses of Australian Governments.

The report says that rebuilding community trust and maintaining it needs to be an immediate and ongoing priority, because a key partner in any pandemic response is the Australian public.

The Inquiry was established in September 2023 to consider Commonwealth responses to the pandemic, including vaccines and financial support. The Inquiry also considered the role of National Cabinet.

It was led by an independent panel with significant experience in public health and economic policy – Ms Robyn Kruk AO (Chair), Professor Catherine Bennett and Dr Angela Jackson.

The Inquiry has 9 guiding recommendations and 26 actions for both short term and longer-term work to improve Australia’s preparedness for future pandemics.

The Inquiry received 2201 submissions from organisations and individuals, conducted interviews and roundtables, and commissioned research to understand the experiences of those most heavily affected.

Stakeholder interviews included the former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, Health Minister Greg Hunt, and Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt, as well as a majority of the former State Premiers and Chief Ministers.

The Government will release a response after careful consideration of the Inquiry’s findings and recommendations.

In the interim, the Albanese Government will deliver a new Australian Centre for Disease Control, which is one of the central recommendations of the independent Inquiry.

The report is available at: COVID-19 Response Inquiry Report

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

“The pandemic was an extremely difficult period for many Australians, with its impact still being felt. Given the magnitude of this crisis, I determined that it was in the national interest to review what worked and what we can do to be better prepared in the future.

“I thank the panel members for their dedicated work. I also thank the many individuals and organisations who shared their experiences of the pandemic.

“The Australian Government is committed to doing all that we can to ensure Australia is fully equipped and prepared to face future pandemics. We will release a response after careful consideration of the Inquiry report.”

Minister for Health Mark Butler

“This inquiry will be the blueprint to ensure Australia is better prepared for the next pandemic – and there will be a next pandemic.

“As the Inquiry makes clear, Australia lacked sufficient planning and preparation for a pandemic. There are a lot of lessons.

“The establishment of the Australian CDC will help ensure we are prepared next time.

“Within the next 24 hours, I’ll be discussing the Inquiry with my health minister colleagues. Those discussions will continue over coming months.”

Treasurer Jim Chalmers

“The pandemic showed us the best of Australians’ resilience, but it had a profound and lasting impact on our nation’s economy that we are still repairing today.

“The Inquiry has told us that big decisions were taken, and big mistakes were made. These mistakes were costly and added fuel to the inflationary fire.

“The report, and the progress we’ve made since, are proof of why our responsible economic management is so important. It’s why we’re so focused on fighting inflation, delivering responsible cost of living relief, and repairing the budget mess we inherited.”

The Albanese Labor Government is backing home-grown innovation, regional jobs and a Future Made in Australia – with the country’s first commercial Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) heat plant to be built in Victoria.

The development of the plant at the Mars Petcare facility in Wodonga will be backed by more than $17 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

This project will secure jobs in the region, reduce emissions through clean, renewable energy and show what’s possible for the future of manufacturing in Australia.

Concentrated solar power technology is a well-known technology for electricity generation, but its application in providing renewable heat for industry is new.

Manufacturing often relies on using large volumes of heat in different processes.

Fossil fuels have traditionally been the only way to generate sufficient heat – however technology breakthroughs mean renewable, clean energy can now be used.

CST uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight to produce thermal energy (PDF 1 MB), that’s then stored as pressurised steam and used in the manufacturing process.

This project will:

• Include an 18 MW thermal CST plant, with up to 10 hours of thermal storage
• Reduce 50% of the facility’s gas use – equivalent to the average annual gas use of over 2,000 households
• Create around 80 jobs during construction

Construction will kick off this month, with completion and full operations expected by 2026.

The Albanese Labor Government is supporting real reliable renewables projects right now.

Peter Dutton’s only plan for Australia’s energy system is to introduce the most expensive form of energy – nuclear – in two decades time.

It’s up to the Coalition to detail the costs of their risky nuclear plan and explain why they’re against a Future Made in Australia.

The Mars Petcare Wodonga project will demonstrate CST as a viable option for businesses seeking reliable, renewable heat solutions to decarbonise industrial processes.

The new CST project will complement Mars Wodonga’s Electric Thermal Energy Storage technology which allows the facility to generate low-cost renewable electricity during off-peak times to produce and store heat for later use.

The company is committed to the facility’s transition to 100% renewable energy in 2 years.

The Wodonga facility is the largest Australian manufacturing site for producing pet food brands such as Pedigree and Whiskas.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

“Creating jobs, investing in our regions and reducing emissions – this is a perfect example of a Future Made in Australia.

“Australia has long and proud energy story.

“Projects like this are part of a new chapter which shows what we can do right across Australia, not just here in Wodonga.”

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen

“Our regions have powered the Australian economy for a decades, and will continue to do so in a net zero world, with a future made in Australia.

“This is a great demonstration of the potential for renewable technologies like Concentrated Solar Thermal to drive decarbonisation and create regional Australian jobs.

“The Albanese Government is implementing a Reliable Renewables Plan right now, while Peter Dutton and his colleagues have nothing but a nuclear scheme that could cost $600 billion and deliver less than 4 per cent of Australia’s energy needs.”

Most of the Ocean beaches in Byron Shire and Ballina Shire have been given excellent grades in this year’s State of the Beaches report. Water quality assessment indicated that 100% of monitored ocean beaches in Ballina Shire achieved a Good or Very Good grading. This means the swim sites were suitable for swimming most or almost all the time.

The best rated beaches in the Ballina electorate were Seven Mile Beach, Shelly Beach, and Lighthouse Beach. In Ballina Shire three of the seven estuarine swim spots were classed as Good while Shaws Bay North, East and West, and Missingham Beach – received poor grades. Shaws Bay East was downgraded from Good from the previous year. Only one of the four monitored lake/lagoon sites (Lake Ainsworth South) was graded as Good in 2023-24, with Lake Ainsworth North, East and West all graded as Poor this year.

The North Coast experienced above average rainfall in Spring 2023 due to heavy rainfall in October and November. Rainfall is the major driver of pollution in swim sites, with water quality impacted by stormwater runoff and sewage overflows.

State of the Beaches grades are compiled from water quality samples collected at NSW swim sites monitored under the Beachwatch and Beachwatch Partnership programs.

Member for Ballina

“It is fantastic to see our ocean beaches receive great results despite the high rainfall we have received.”

“It is also a timely reminder that that swimming should be avoided during and for up to three days following rainfall or if there are signs of stormwater pollution such as discoloured water or floating debris.”

“I will be working with Ballina Shire Council to confirm if the beaches that were rated poorly near the mouth of the Richmond River are due to the overall poor health of the river, or if there are other contributing factors.”

“As a major tourist destination for our beautiful beaches it is great news that our ocean beaches are some of the safest in terms of water quality in the State.”

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Greens leader and spokesperson for Higher Education, has reacted to reports that over 1,000 jobs could be at risk at universities nationwide due to the government’s reckless international student cap legislation, which is before the senate.

Senator Faruqi: 

“Labor’s disastrous plan to introduce international student caps is wreaking havoc in the sector before they’ve even come into effect.

“If the prospect of more than 1000 uni job cuts across many universities during a cost of living crisis isn’t enough to convince the Albanese Government that international student caps are a catastrophic mistake, nothing will. 

“Rampant casualisation, wage theft and unsustainable workloads were already crushing staff, and now more than 1000 university workers stand to lose their jobs because of Labor.

“Labor should dump its disastrous international student caps bill and get rid of Ministerial direction 107 right now.

“What universities need is a boost in funding and an overhaul of governance to prioritise staff and students in every decision, not these politically motivative crackdowns on international students.”