Prime Minister Scott Morrison has come under fire by Labor’s Mark Dreyfus and Kristina Keneally following the government’s refusal to have agriculture department biosecurity officials appear at the Ruby Princess inquiry, The Guardian reports.
The outlet has today shared that Dreyfus has reached out to Attorney-General Christian Porter, seeking an explanation as to why these officials will not be appearing before the inquiry.
“The prime minister promised full cooperation,” he is quoted stating.
“Your government refused to provide full cooperation.
“That is deeply troubling – not just because it is at odds with the commitment made by the prime minister, but also because it betrays a troubling attitude to basic notions of accountability.”
The news comes after it was revealed that a Border Force officer allowed people to disembark the Ruby Princess cruise ship after mistaking negative flu tests for negative COVID-19 test results. As ABC reports, the error meant that passengers who were COVID-19 positive stepped off the ship.
In response to questions of government cooperation with the inquiry into the disaster, Peter Dutton told the press, “we have cooperated, we’ve provided a submission to the inquiry”.
Taking to Twitter this weekend, Keneally also pushed for answers. She wrote:
“Why is Scott Morrison blocking Federal officials from appearing before the #RubyPrincess Special Inquiry? Morrison Govt promise: cooperation with the inquiry. Morrison Govt reality: fighting a legal summons and preventing witnesses from appearing.”
The Guardian went on to report that Keneally asked NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to allow more time for the inquiry. She has, however, denied that request. A report is expected to be delivered on August 14th.
It’s been reported that 662 cases of COVID-19 have been linked back to the Ruby Princess cruise ship. There have been 22 deaths as a result of those cases.
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