Doorstop - Cooma, NSW
28 August 2020
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister can we ask you, some concerning reports this morning of a twin baby girl who's passed away after not being able to get into Queensland?
PRIME MINISTER: This is terribly distressing. It's, it's heartbreaking. I learnt of this same story this morning as to this terrible news. And there needs to be an explanation as to how these, these hard border arrangements, can lead to people not getting access to this care as it seems to be the case here. I don't know all the facts here and it's important that they're all known and I don't want to get ahead of that process. But as I'll be making a comment here today, I understand why there can be recommendations about having border restrictions under a COVID pandemic. But at the same time, they would need to be an extraordinary explanation in relation to how someone wouldn't be able to get medical treatment in these circumstances. So there does need to be an explanation here. And again, these restrictions need to be put in place with compassion, with common sense and understanding all the risks, not just the COVID risks that present.
JOURNALIST: Are they inhumane these hard border closers?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's important that they're done with humanity. It's important they're done with compassion. It's important they're done with common sense, and not only at looking at risk on one side of the ledger. Any Australian, wherever they are, who needs medical treatment, should be able to access it, particularly in an emergency in any Australian hospital whatever state they're in.
JOURNALIST: Would you consider a prisoner swap with Brendon Tarrant in relation to…
PRIME MINISTER: Well I've already addressed those issues earlier today in my earlier interviews.
JOURNALIST: Will you be discussing the border issues with National Cabinet or would you consider convening a special meeting to discuss this issue again [inaudible].
PRIME MINISTER: I'll be writing to the Premiers as I always do about these issues. We have discussed this issue on numerous occasions with the National Cabinet. Unfortunately, there hasn't been agreement on the principles that should drive that. I was talking to the Danish Prime Minister this week and they have a very interesting way to find hotspots not terribly different to the way the Northern Territory does it. And that's based on clear, objective medical evidence about case rates in particular places. I think there are ways to actually do this in a way that I think people can get a better understanding of how this works and it avoids the arbitrariness. But at the same time, there need to be exemptions. They need to be properly applied. There can't just be blanket arrangements here otherwise you place at risk the very real circumstances, which terribly sadly, we've seen occur. Now, I can't say, I don't think anyone can say definitively, about whether the outcome may have been different here. I can’t say that, I’m not aware of the clinical issues and whether the exemption in this case directly contributed. I can't draw any of those conclusions. And I'm not suggesting that.
JOURNALIST: Does the Queensland Government have some explaining to do?
PRIME MINISTER: Well clearly there needs to be an explanation as to why the exemption was not provided in this rather very extreme case. I think those answers are obviously necessary.
JOURNALIST: What do you say to this grieving family?
PRIME MINISTER: My heart just breaks for you. My heart just breaks for you.
