COVID review raises need for business input

Better support for small business and use of industry expertise should be considered in future pandemic planning, according to an independent review of WA’s COVID-19 response.

The review, led by ex-Liberal MP John Day, Emeritus Professor Margaret Seares, and ex-ACCC deputy chair Michael Schaper and tabled in parliament on Wednesday was largely complimentary of the state government’s handling of COVID-19.

It found the swift establishment of an emergency management team, public sector adaptability, daily public updates, data sharing and border controls were hallmarks of the government’s response.

But barriers for vulnerable residents, a lack of local manufacturing to mitigate supply chain risk, staff burnout, and family hardship were all identified among issues presented by the tough measures implemented to stamp out COVID-19.

Among 35 recommendations support fully or in-principle by the state government were calls to increase local manufacturing of PPE, leverage business expertise, review support for small and medium business and non-profits and improve provision of emergency grants.

Other measures called for an expansion of the no-fault vaccination injury compensation scheme and care to ensure future vaccine mandates are informed by new research.

WA Premier Roger Cook said the review was a blueprint for future governments to better handle pandemics.

“Notably, the review recommends that current and future governments should continue to consider the trade-offs between health, economic and social output considerations when making future decisions… such as hard border restrictions.

This is an important recommendation as governments cannot make emergency decisions through the prism of a single lens.

“It doesn't validate everything that we did as best practice, but it acknowledges that we did very well in protecting lives and protecting the economy.”

WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam said the review honed in only on what the government did well.

“There was certainly opportunities for lessons to be learned regarding the fact we had the least compassionate border in the country, given the challenges with our health workforce, given the fact we were not battle already for COVID,” she said.

“Given our heavy reliance on overseas health workers, there may have been some learnings that we could have taken forward about recruitment and better supporting our health workforce at this time.

“While I'm sure the government would be welcoming a report, which was only about issues which they could be patted on the back for, it does represent a missed opportunity.”

The state government on Tuesday revealed it would launch a new information campaign to combat vaccine misinformation identified in the review.