Opinion – Virus response must build on trust
Comprehensive COVID-19 Response and Recovery Inquiry Invests in Trust
Like many, I’ve watched with horror the recent distressing events across the United States.
There are many complex factors underlying this situation, but the civic disturbances are occurring in the context of large sections of the US citizenry’s loss of trust in their government and institutions.
Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has tested and stretched beyond any recognisable limit, people’s trust in, and patience with, their governments and decision-making bodies.
Positively, in Australia, we’ve moved from an all-time low less than a year ago, to surveys in April this year showing renewed levels of public trust and confidence in government.
While trust may be earned by decisive leaders in a time of crisis, it should never be taken for granted.
The challenge for Tasmania’s elected representatives is whether we now coast on and exploit that renewed trust, or whether we invest in strengthening public trust in government and, more importantly, in our governance institutions beyond the time of crisis.
As the Premier has noted, Tasmanians deserve to be congratulated for our overall co-operation and efforts to comply with the extraordinary range of restrictions imposed, despite the potentially devastating and disruptive impacts upon livelihoods, families, and upon so much of what we once took for granted.
Many have, and will continue to do it tough.
A key way to repay Tasmanians for their trust and forbearance during this crisis is to invest in consolidating and building on that trust into the future.
To invest in strengthening our system of governance in a publicly accountable, transparent and tangible manner: to have the guts and integrity to be upfront with those who bore the brunt of the rolling rapid-fire decisions, and say, we have nothing to hide from you; to say, we stand by these decisions.
However now in the relative calm of the post-first wave period, we want to place everything on the table, review and refine those decisions and processes, to inform both our recovery and any future response to potential outbreaks or other catastrophic events.
And crucially, to recognise the need to have a formal public record of this pivotal moment in our island’s history which collects our community’s stories, experiences and ideas as a contribution to our reinvention as an economically and socially robust society.
It can be no surprise that the calls for a comprehensive parliamentary Inquiry into the state’s COVID-19 response and recovery efforts continue to grow both within parliament and without.
Despite Tasmanians’ demonstration of trust and cooperation during the height of the pandemic crisis, there is no doubt that our state is falling behind interstate counterparts when it comes to investing in rigorous oversight and formal community input opportunities.
Tasmania is the only jurisdiction other than Western Australia, which does not have a dedicated, broad COVID-19 parliamentary inquiry underway. In contrast, most interstate parliaments have a range of inquiries in progress, ranging from the specific to the broad and ongoing, with the ACT select committee already releasing an interim report.
Tasmanians deserve an inclusive, coherent and comprehensive picture to be recorded for posterity. We need not settle for piecemeal scrutiny and a fragmented portrayal of events and participants.
We can acknowledge the value of our partial return to parliamentary sitting, the limited oversight of the Subordinate Legislation Committee, an inquiry into the North West hospital outbreak, and the other existing committees that may look at COVID-19 in relation to their specific area of focus.
While valuable, these elements are not comprehensive, and do not represent Parliament operating at its full capacity on behalf of its citizens.
Non-parliamentary input will be provided to the government by the Premier’s Advisory Council. While undoubtedly useful, it’s important to remember that this hand-picked and selectively representative group is not publicly accountable to the community. Its activities are not protected by parliamentary privilege, it cannot hold hearings on the public record, and it is providing advice only, not scrutiny.
A Joint House COVID-19 inquiry would provide formal, broad, publicly accountable scrutiny, as well as providing an equal-playing field for those wishing to contribute to the reinvention of a post-COVID-19 Tasmania.
This work is the day-job of our state MPs; we are already being paid to do it, and we have a responsibility to undertake it.
I recently wrote to all my state parliamentarian colleagues urging support for a comprehensive parliamentary inquiry, inclusive of the range of independent voices and parties representing our community.
I hope this week the parliament comes together to say to Tasmanians, thank you for your trust and forbearance, we won’t take it for granted but will deliver to you the most robust scrutiny and most comprehensive public record possible.
We don’t have to ration democracy. We can repay the Tasmanian people in full for their trust, with a Parliament that delivers on all its democratic responsibilities.
Meg Webb Talking Point The Mercury 3 June 2020
Read Mercury 28 May 2020 Tasmanian lagging behind rest of the country on scrutiny
Read Examiner 28 May 2020 Tasmanian Govt resists calls for new parliamentary committee
