With the bushfires, government scandals, whatever new hole Scott Morrison has dug for himself, and now the coronavirus dominating headlines in Australia, getting the public’s attention is particularly tough these days, especially if you’re Peter Dutton, who must’ve felt a little left out these last few months.
But alas, it seems like ol’ mate has managed to figure out a way to shoulder-barge his way back to the headlines (unfortunately) by saying something cooked about the coronavirus.
The GOAT team dissect the coronavirus outbreak in more detail on It’s Been A Big Day For… below:
Scott Morrison previously unveiled Australia’s controversial coronavirus quarantine plan for those being evacuated from Wuhan (aka ground zero for the disease outbreak), which basically consists of sending evacuees to Christmas Island and making them pay for the trip.
With 14 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Australia (so far) and hundreds of others in quarantine for 14 days to make sure they’re not infected, there are worries that Christmas Island could reach capacity.
But fear not because Peter Dutton is here with a solution: send coronavirus evacuees to mining camps if Christmas Island is filled up.
Speaking about the issue (via The Guardian), ol’ mate Dutto says that if the situation continues and the coronavirus keeps breaking out in other countries or cruise ships, there’s the option of sending infected people to mining camps and/or other isolated places in Australia.
“There are isolated mining camps or the prospect of hotels that you could take over. But I think we’ll look at all of those in order of what we think is the best response, but all of this is in the spirit of preparation.”
No one is a fan of the coronavirus situation Australia finds itself in, but the solutions so far aren’t exactly… optimal. When your options are to be sent to a filthy detention centre on Christmas Island or some mining camp in the middle of nowhere that’s definitely not built for medical care, it’s a lose-lose situation.
But if you’re Peter Dutton, everything is apparently fine and the cockroach-riddled centres on Christmas Island are perfectly okay:
“I think frankly, overwhelmingly, except for one photo of one cockroach, most people are complimentary of what has happened.”
The coronavirus outbreak is a serious issue that’s been difficult to deal with, but surely the Australian government can do a little bit better. We’re not expecting them to build an entire hospital in just 10 days, but we at least expect things to be of a higher standard than Christmas Island or Peter Dutton spruiking mining camps in the middle of nowhere as viable medical care alternatives.
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