NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Covid 19 coronavirus hotel quarantine inquiry: Scott Morrison offered Daniel Andrews help three times

news.com.au
16 Sep, 2020 11:42 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Australia PM Scott Morrison said he offered Premier Daniel Andrews help with quarantine three times and got no response. Photo / File

Australia PM Scott Morrison said he offered Premier Daniel Andrews help with quarantine three times and got no response. Photo / File

As Daniel Andrews faces mounting pressure in Australia over his now-debunked claim that military support was never on the table for the state of Victoria's failed hotel quarantine programme, it has been revealed the country's Prime Minister wrote to him directly on three occasions to offer support.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's repeated correspondence occurred before the state's devastating second wave of coronavirus, which has been tied to the bungled mandatory quarantine of returned travellers.

The revelation, which comes in a 149-page submission by Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Defence Department to an inquiry into the bungled programme, deals a further blow to the credibility of the embattled Victorian Premier.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"When the Covid-19 case numbers began to escalate in Victoria by the end of June 2020, the Prime Minister wrote to Premier Andrews on three separate occasions (July 4 2020, July 6 2020 and July 11 2020) reaffirming the Commonwealth's preparedness to continue the provision of ADF support to Victoria as needed," the Commonwealth submission reads.

"Premier Andrews expressed his appreciation for the Commonwealth's continued efforts in meeting previous requests for assistance, including ADF assistance (letters dated July 5 2020, July 7 2020, July 12 2020 and July 14 2020)."

Andrews has repeatedly denied any ADF support was on offer to help with the hotel quarantine programme, and this week refused to answer questions about other revelations in the inquiry that cast doubt on his claims.

Victoria's use of private security guards to oversee the quarantine programme resulted in a number of serious health protocol breaches that largely caused the second wave of coronavirus, triggering a devastating second lockdown last month.

Yesterday it was revealed that on June 20, then Commonwealth chief medical officer Brendan Murphy emailed Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton to say the "ADF could help at very short notice".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The emails show Sutton replied by thanking his colleague, saying "we've got good training ... but the workforce is the wrong cohort" and he was "talking to DJPR (the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions) about better options".

On Tuesday, a separate email also appeared to contradict Andrews' position. It showed that on April 8, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Philip Gaetjens emailed Chris Eccles, the boss of Victoria's Department of Premier and Cabinet, about "the question of assistance with security".

"I am advised the only deal with NSW was in-kind provision of ADF personnel," Gaetjens wrote. "I am sure the Commonwealth would be willing to assist Victoria if you wanted to reconsider your operating model."

Eccles replied that day, "Thanks Phil."

Discover more

New Zealand

Live: 'Ferocious and deadly' - family loses 2 brothers to Covid; Global cases at new daily record

16 Sep 05:32 PM
World

Aussie PM banned from entering Queensland for election campaign

16 Sep 07:59 AM
Entertainment

James Corden films talk show from home after virus scare

16 Sep 07:40 PM
World

Inside a nursing home devoted to treating those with Covid-19

17 Sep 05:00 AM

At his daily Covid-19 press conference on Wednesday, Andrews was repeatedly asked about why his statements at a state parliamentary inquiry last month – where he said it was "fundamentally incorrect to assert that there was hundreds of ADF staff on offer and somehow someone said no" – appeared to contradict evidence at the inquiry.

"All can I can say is the statements I've made are accurate," he said.

"I stand by those statements. I'll providing evidence (in the inquiry) next week and it's not appropriate for me to run debates back and forth. You're fine to ask the question but there's a live process going on. I'm not distant from it. I'll be part of that process next week."

Giving evidence before the inquiry yesterday, Professor Sutton revealed that he was unaware private security was being used until there were outbreaks. In a statement, he said until there were outbreaks, he had no reservations about the quarantine programme.

"After the outbreaks, I heard of the allegations about security in the media and, considering the issue now, I can see the risks created by the use of that workforce," he said. "I was not involved in the making of that decision. Until there were outbreaks, I was not in fact aware that they were using security guards."

The inquiry also heard yesterday from Victoria's emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp, who said he requested ADF assistance after being given a "list of issues" with the private security guards but later rescinded the request because other options, including police, were being explored.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Commonwealth submission shows that on June 24, Crisp sent an email to Emergency Management Australia – a division of the Commonwealth's Home Affairs Department – and the ADF attaching three requests for assistance, one of which sought up to 850 ADF personnel to support hotel quarantine compliance.

An EMA official replied that day that "Defence has accepted all tasks".

The next day, however, Crisp sent an email withdrawing the request.

"Based on changing operational and resourcing requirements I am writing to advise you that Victoria no longer wishes to progress RFA015, the request for up to 850 resources to support our hotel quarantine operation (Op Soteria)," he wrote.

"Thank you for your efforts in progressing this request and as always, we sincerely appreciate the support of EMA and the ADF."

Morrison told reporters on June 26 that he understood "that was a request that was subsequently withdrawn, I assume as a result of further discussions by officials in Victoria".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"But the point is this – where any state needs some support here, then we will provide it," he said.

"And these situations can be quite fluid and the needs can change in a short period of time if they didn't end up needing that additional support and that can be done by their police service, well, good. But if they needed additional support from the federal government, then it would have been there."

The inquiry continues.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

Zohran Mamdani clinches Democratic nomination for New York mayor

01 Jul 10:34 PM
Premium
World

What does President Trump’s new perfume smell like?

01 Jul 10:05 PM
World

Trump hails new 'Alligator Alcatraz' migrant detention centre

01 Jul 09:37 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Zohran Mamdani clinches Democratic nomination for New York mayor

Zohran Mamdani clinches Democratic nomination for New York mayor

01 Jul 10:34 PM

He faces a quickly mobilising opposition ahead of the general election.

Premium
What does President Trump’s new perfume smell like?

What does President Trump’s new perfume smell like?

01 Jul 10:05 PM
Trump hails new 'Alligator Alcatraz' migrant detention centre

Trump hails new 'Alligator Alcatraz' migrant detention centre

01 Jul 09:37 PM
Macron, Putin hold talks for first time in years, discuss Ukraine ceasefire

Macron, Putin hold talks for first time in years, discuss Ukraine ceasefire

01 Jul 09:27 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP