Scott Morrison lists his top MISTAKES in office during Covid

An under-pressure Scott Morrison has listed his top mistakes during the Covid-19 pandemic but refused to say sorry for them.

After delivering a speech to the National Press club where he admitted to making errors, Mr Morrison was asked if he would like to apologise for mistakes through his time in office. 

‘Do you want to take this opportunity to actually say sorry for the mistakes you’ve made as prime minister,’ asked host Laura Tingle. 

‘Not just about Covid – everything from going to Hawaii during the bushfires through to not having enough rapid antigen tests.’ 

Scott Morrison has listed his top mistakes during the Covid-19 pandemic but refused to say sorry for them

Mr Morrison began his reply by saying: ‘We’re all terribly sorry for what this pandemic has done to the world and to this country. These are the times in which we live.’

But he then went on to list three key errors including falsely raising people’s hopes before this summer, not placing the vaccine rollout under military command from the start and poorly managing outbreaks in aged care. 

‘We could have communicated more clearly about the risks and challenges that we still face,’ Mr Morrison said in reference to how he called for an end to restrictions before the Omicron wave in December.

‘In our communications, we have to be be clear about that. We can’t lift people’s hopes, then disappointment them. I think that’s what happened over the break.’

PM’s three mistakes 

1. Raising hopes before summer by calling for an end to restrictions

2. Not placing vaccine rollout under military command from the start

3. Poor management of aged care outbreaks 

‘Secondly, on the vaccination program, if I had my time over, I would have put it under a military operation from the outset and not later in the year,’ Mr Morrison said.

The Prime Minister said the goal to offer a jab to everyone by October was achieved but admitted the rollout got off to a slow start, prompting him to install Lieutenant General John Frewen as boss of the programme.

‘I took the decision to send in General Frewen and change the way we did it, and set up a change in the command structure, how logistics were managed, how it was planned. And it worked. But I wish we’d done that earlier. And that’s a lesson,’ Mr Morrison said. 

The Prime Minster also admitted that aged care outbreaks should have been handled better, mentioning one incident at St Basil’s carehome in Sydney when the staff had to isolate and the military had to be sent in.

‘The interface between the aged care sector and the public hospital system was blurred. And so, when the storms of COVID hit, that created some real challenges,’ he said.

Scott Morrison went to Hawaii on holiday in December 2019 during major bushfires, before cutting his holiday short when photos (above) emerged of him on social media

‘And in the aged care sector – I remember it was one of the hardest days of the pandemic – with St Basil’s. 

‘We had a whole health workforce stood down because of COVID rules… and I had to send the military in that night. 

‘The interface and whether patients could be moved and how and when from aged care facilities into hospital facilities, private and public, that emerged earlier in the pandemic. 

‘And so that could have been done better, between both the states and ourselves.’   

Tingle then said: ‘So you don’t have to say sorry about any of those things?’ and the Prime Minister replied: ‘I think I’ve explained my answer fairly fully.’ 

Earlier anti-vax protesters inspired by large rallies in Canada gathered outside the National Press Club ahead of Mr Morrison’s speech.

About 50 protesters outside the building waved flags – including banners supporting Donald Trump – and chanted ‘remove Scomo’, ‘no more boosters’ and ‘we will not comply’.

It comes a day after Health Minister Greg Hunt said the Government is considering offering Australians a fourth Covid vaccine dose.

The protesters descended on the capital on Monday in a convoy of trucks and cars from Pheasants Nest near Wollongong in NSW, taking inspiration from a ‘Freedom Convoy’ in the Canadian capital Ottawa over the weekend. 

Protesters are seen during an anti-vaccination rally outside the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra

About 50 protesters outside the building waved flags – including banners supporting Donald Trump

There was a large police presence outside the building where the protesters had gathered

Canada’s ‘Freedom Convoy’ 

The Freedom Convoy 2022 was started by Canadian truckers who opposed vaccine mandates imposed on their industry by the Government.

The truckers were joined by other opponents of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on their way to Ottawa where they parked on Saturday.

The demonstrators have set up camp in a park near the National Library where about 200 cars and trucks were counted on Tuesday morning. 

Mr Morrison’s speech about health and economic resilience comes after a disastrous Newspoll put Labor on track to comfortably win the next election.

The Opposition is ahead 56-44 on a two-party-preferred basis in the Coalition’s worst polling performance since September 2018, a month after Malcolm Turnbull was replaced by Mr Morrison.

The 12-point lead puts Labor on track to win up to 25 seats from the Coalition and represents a 6-point lead increase from the last poll on December 6 when it was ahead 53-47. 

On Monday Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the polls could change by election time.

‘Many obituaries were written by those in the media and our political opponents who got ahead of themselves,’ he said in reference to Mr Morrison’s surprise win at the 2019 election.   

The latest poll for The Australian newspaper comes as eastern Australia is ravaged by a large outbreak of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 which is causing staff shortages for thousands of businesses. 

The federal government has also faced heavy criticism over the widespread shortage of rapid antigen tests and was blasted by the NSW Government on Sunday for refusing to split the cost of a new business support package.  

In the speech Mr Morrison announced aged care workers will get two bonus payments of up to $400 in February and May to stop them leaving the sector which is ravaged by Covid outbreaks and staff shortages.

Labor and unions have blasted the bonus payments describing the move as a ‘cheap and nasty’ election stunt.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese said the PM was trying to ‘buy’ the support of aged care workers.

About 50 protesters outside the building waved flags and chanted ‘no more boosters’ and ‘we will not comply’

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