One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson has today called on whichever party forms government after this year’s Federal election to establish a broad Royal Commission on the management of the COVID-19 pandemic by Australian governments.

Senator Hanson said it was absolutely critical there was an honest and thorough examination of how Federal, state and territory governments managed the pandemic.

“This pandemic, and governments’ attempts to manage it, has affected every Australian in some way,” she said.

“People have died. The economy was shut down. Schools were shut down. Entire cities were effectively shut down. Borders were closed. Vast quantities of taxpayers’ money have been expended. Military personnel have been deployed. Thousands of people have lost their job. Businesses have closed, in many cases permanently. Individual rights and freedoms have been curtailed or discarded. Unelected bureaucrats have wielded extraordinary power.

“We need a Royal Commission not to lay blame or find scapegoats – the buck will always stop with the Prime Minister and state and territory leaders, as it must in a representative democracy – but primarily to learn which pandemic measures worked and which didn’t so we are much better prepared for the next pandemic. Because as sure as the sun rises every day, there will inevitably be another pandemic. The lessons learned from this pandemic must inform how we manage the next one.

“Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them.

“We need it because only a Royal Commission is likely to have the power necessary to compel the expert health advice Australian governments relied on to justify and implement pandemic measures – much of this advice has been hidden from the Australian people. We need a Royal Commission because this inquiry must be completely transparent to the Australian public.

“I’m not going to pretend this will be an easy exercise. It will be a difficult examination and it will take a long time, but it is absolutely necessary. The Australian people deserve a comprehensive account of the decisions made by their governments to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.”

ENDS