Skin in the blame | The Monthly

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Labors attempts to pin its public-health decisions on the former government cannot stand

The backlash to the Albanese governments inherited decision to allow various pandemic policies to lapse, amid a terrifying winter wave of the virus, is growing rather deafening. Doctors, unions, pharmacists and welfare advocates have called out the decisions to end pandemic leave, certain telehealth rebates and free rapid antigen tests for concession-card holders. Today they were joined by the NSW Labor leader, Chris Minns, and the Tasmanian Liberal premier, Jeremy Rockliff, who both called for pandemic leave to be reinstated. Its clear that the government has made the wrong call here, and it seems more and more likely it will have to cave. A fierce grilling on Today this morning saw Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promise to continue to take advice on the matter, while Aged Care Minister Anika Wells, who has spent the day promoting the governments aged-care winter plan, told reporters this afternoon that all options are open when it came to reinstating pandemic leave. Try as they might, however, they cannot simply blame this mess on the old government. It was Labors choice to carry on with what was obviously a premature end-date, and it is one that Labor will have to own if things go drastically wrong.

Albanese and his ministers have today kept up the farce that these policy end dates were set by the previous government, and that Labor is therefore not responsible for them. After yesterday telling RN Breakfast that this was a decision his government had inherited (along with a trillion dollars in debt), the PM was back at it this morning. Have you made a huge mistake stopping pandemic leave payments and the free RATs for pensioners? he was asked on Today. We havent, Albanian replied, repeating the inherited line. (The Today hosts were not having it.) When pressed over the fate of a casual worker being forced to isolate without pay, Albanese noted that it was a really difficult circumstance for her, before returning to blaming the former government for making the decision to cease support. Similar arguments have been used by Health Minister Mark Butler and Treasurer Jim Chalmers, both of whom have blamed the Coalition and the debt for something that is happening on their watch.

The inheritance argument, which Labor has used before, is ludicrous its a cop out as incoming Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne put it yesterday. If only this government was somehow the government and had the power to change things the way governments do by governing, lamented Guardian Australias always incisive First Dog on the Moon. We all know Labor could change this if it wanted to, and, unlike the Stage Three tax cuts for high-income earners, Labor did not promise during the election campaign to go ahead with this timetable. And yes the budget may be in a terrible state, but Labor now controls the till, and it can decide where and how to make savings. It seems quite likely that Albanese who in January tweeted that RATs should be free, because we are in a pandemic would be up in arms if this was happening under the Coalitions watch. And so he should be: this is a frankly baffling call, one that may even cost more than it saves.

At the end of the day, Labor will have to wear the consequences of these policies. If this already worrying third wave of the virus grows worse than it needs to be because people without sick leave are going to work infected, or concession-card holders arent able to afford precautionary tests ($8, after all, is a rather large sum for people living on $46 per day), that will be on the government that let it happen. If more Australians die than need be, if our hospital or aged-care systems buckle, if people are forced to miss out on other life-saving treatments, that will be on the Albanese government. Scott Morrison was infamous for his refusal to take responsibility. Even today, the former PM is in Seoul, speaking at a leadership conference, blaming the national cabinet and COVID for his own mistakes and subsequent downfall (much to the amusement of Twitter). Anthony Albanese would be wise to take note, lest he find himself one day out on the speaking circuit, blaming COVID and the government before his for the political price he has paid.

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