Premier
Peter Gutwein needs to give Tasmanians a guarantee that investigations into a
breach of hotel quarantine will be thorough and the findings will be made
public.
Shadow
Minister for Police Michelle O’Byrne said important questions about how a COVID
positive man was able to depart Melbourne for Hobart and then walk out of hotel
quarantine had so far not been adequately addressed by the government.
“The
Premier was adamant that after the recent case of a 15-year-old who walked out
of home quarantine in Launceston another breach could not be allowed to occur,”
Ms O’Byrne said.
“The
breach by this individual from hotel quarantine cannot be swept under the
carpet and the Premier needs to show Tasmanians that important lessons have
been learned and, as he said, it cannot be allowed to happen again.
“Why are there not more thorough checks at ports of exit to Tasmania and, given that the Premier himself has said previously that delta will arrive in the state, why were we not better prepared for the possibility of a breach from hotel quarantine?
“The
investigation needs to focus on why security staff weren’t provided with more
resources and why camera surveillance was inadequate to eliminate the risk of
this man leaving and entering the community, particularly since he had shown
scant regard for the rules.
“Tasmanians
want to know how this was able to happen, plunging the south of the state into
lockdown.
“The Premier needs to also update Tasmanians on the review of the home quarantine system that was promised after the Launceston breach and give an undertaking the findings of that review will also be made public.”
Michelle O’Byrne MP
Shadow Minister for Police, Fire & Emergency Management
