Media release – Elise Archer, Attorney-General and Liberal Member for Clark, 1 September 2020

Labor playing rank politics with hotel quarantine

The Government’s hotel quarantine arrangements have served Tasmania well and we thank the companies in charge of security for their important work to keep our State safe.

It is simply distasteful to say the least that Labor’s representative and Shadow Attorney-General, Ella Haddad would try and play rank politics with this and vilify these companies by falsely comparing Tasmania’s situation to Victoria.

This is the same Ms Haddad that literally stood in front of a hotel while quarantined passengers were disembarking, potentially putting herself and others with whom she came in contact at risk, along with every other Tasmanian.

For Ms Haddad’s information, the Government was asked for this information yesterday afternoon. As with any legal contract, the Department undertook the required due diligence before releasing the information, which is now complete.

I would urge Ms Haddad and Labor to stop trying to politicise this pandemic and support our efforts to keep Tasmanians safe.

The security companies are as follows:

  • Elite Protective Services;
  • Eagle Security Services;
  • Kevlar Security Services.

Media release – Ella Haddad, Labor Member for Clark, 1 September 2020

Transparency needed on hotel quarantine

The State Government’s refusal to disclose which security companies are running Tasmania’s hotel quarantine makes no sense and must be reversed in the interests of transparency.

Labor Member for Clark Ella Haddad says Tasmanians need to have full confidence that the state can avoid a repeat of the situation in Victoria.

“We’ve seen the tragedy unfold in Victoria and the catastrophic consequences of a breakdown in hotel quarantine arrangements,” Ms Haddad said.

“There is no reason to think there’s any issue with private security companies here, as long as staff are well trained, so why the secrecy around giving the public this information?

“Tasmanians have made extraordinary sacrifices to get us to the good position we are in today and they deserve to know all the protections that are in place to avoid a second wave here.

“If the government has nothing to hide, it should release all information on hotel quarantine to give Tasmanians the confidence they need that we can avoid a repeat of the Victorian situation.

“The government has a responsibility to all Tasmanians to do all it can to keep them safe. It also has a responsibility to communicate these measures to Tasmanians.

“This is not a political issue. It is a public health issue and the people of Tasmania deserve full transparency.”

ABC state political reporter Emily Baker said on Twitter: