Matt Shanahan Warns of Discrimination Over Indoor Dining Reopening
Matt Shanahan addressed the government's plan to reopen indoor dining and the wider Covid response, raising concerns about discrimination, business viability and hospital preparedness. He said he has not decided how to vote and criticised communication between public officials and advisory bodies such as NEFET.
Main concerns on reopening
Matt Shanahan warned that opening indoor dining and restaurants must be done safely, noting the vaccination drive offers a "window out" of Covid but the Delta variant is a growing concern. He said many small businesses and sole traders face great difficulty and that some venues may find reopening financially unviable after accounting for door policing and social distancing measures.
Practical issues on vaccine checks and discrimination
He highlighted the problem of discrimination around vaccination status, reporting conversations with business owners who say it will be impossible to police vaccine proof at their doors and that refusing entry to some customers could be unworkable. Shanahan questioned how workable mandatory checks will be in practice and whether the public is truly "all in this together."
Services still closed and fairness questions
Shanahan asked why some services remain closed while others reopen, citing elderly day care centres, increased respite hours, disability supports, bingo halls and arcades as examples of sectors seeking clarity on when they can operate to the same degree as hotels.
Hospital capacity and health data requests
He pressed the minister on hospital preparedness for a potential surge, noting a recent uptick in Covid presentations and an increase of three patients overnight to ICU. Shanahan asked for age-range data on those patients and for information on the likely impact of Covid on younger cohorts and vulnerable groups who remain exposed.
Communication with advisors and business supports
Shanahan criticised the lack of direct public communication between government and NEFET, and said consultants working on antigen testing and vitamin D have had no ability to connect with the advisory body. He also queried the status of business supports, referencing businesses "claiming the Chris" and whether those who reopen could still claim supports if reopening proves unviable. He concluded that Covid is being used as a political weapon and that he will consult other deputies before deciding his vote.
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The Prime Minister, as you know, I am a past member of the Covid Committee, which you are yourself, and I think your tenure was shorter than mine, but nonetheless there were a very large number of issues covered there in terms of our Covid response. I am also a present member of the Enterprise Committee, and in that role I hear the pleas of business and the very great difficulties that businesses are having, particularly small business, sole traders, and who are looking to see a pathway to get back operational as soon as possible, and I think I have had on a number of occasions express my frustrations, as many other deputies have with NEFET and the sole authority that NEFET has in guiding our Covid response, but I am not going to go back over the fallout of all the Covid measures that we either did not implement in time or we half-heartedly implemented along the way. They have been well documented, but there has been a tremendous social, physical and business fallout to Covid, as we know, and I think it beggars the question, what is it that we want now nationally, what is it that people are looking for, what are we hoping for, and I think there is no doubt that the vaccination drive has now begun to offer us a window out of Covid, albeit that the Delta variant is becoming, I suppose, really a note of concern to that. So, I think what is interesting now is that we have, and government appear to be taking the decision, that is what they are proposing tonight, is to open up indoor dining and restaurants, and I think we have all heard already all the different facets of difficulty, that is bringing not least the discrimination. I have a suspicion that for a lot of businesses, it will not be viable for them to do this, I think by the time they take on the people to police their doors, implement the social distancing measures, all of that they are going to find that a lot of people may not want to move indoors just yet, but I think they have to be offered some possibility to do it, but it has to be done safely, and the question is, is that what we are doing now? I think also we can ask the question about what is not opening up, the elderly day care centres, increased hours in respite, the increased disability that is being asked for, which has been refused to date, the bingo halls, the arcades, which are asking when is it their turn to be allowed to open up to the degree that hotels are allowed to have people on their premises. And the other question that needs to be asked, Minister, is what is the hospital defence to a surge now in COVID? We can see even the last number of days, a very strong uptick in COVID presentation, an increase of three patients overnight to ICU, and I would like to know what are the age ranges of those patients? Assuming that the older vulnerable patients are vaccinated, do we know what the impact COVID is now going to have in terms of younger cohorts and those that are vulnerable that are exposed? We also have the issue of discrimination around vaccination status has been already highlighted, and I have spoken, as other deputies have, to a number of people in business who have said it is going to be impossible for me to stand at my door and ask for vaccine status out of a group of eight people coming in, two can't provide it, and I am going to say, no, you can't come into my premises. So I just wonder how workable all of this is, Minister. And it begs the question too, are we all in this together? And I have asked and I have highlighted that as public servants, we have suffered no diminishment of our pay and conditions since all of this started, unlike very many other people in the private sector. And I think they have to be listened to, but again, it has to be done safely and it has to be done for the right reasons. And also, Minister, I don't understand businesses that presently are claiming the Chris. If they decide to open, I assume that they can't claim it. And if it's unviable and they go to close, will they be able to go back and claim it? What are government's plans to extend that or not to extend that based on this reopening date? So I think questions remain around what it is, what we want and what we need. But I think COVID is now definitely being used as a weapon of political intent. And I and other deputies today have been inundated with people from both sides, you know, trying to, I suppose, elicit a response as to where we are. And in my own case, I have not made a decision as yet, because I can see significant difficulties for operators here. I can see discrimination. On the other side, I can see the case for businesses that want to get back and want to get activated. But I do think, Minister, that some of this resides at government's door. It has been largely about the lack of communication, certainly a direct line of sight between the public and Neffert, other than Nefferts coming out and telling us what they have brought forward. I have a number of times highlighted consultants who are out there in the public space, who have done work in antigens, have done work in vitamin D. They have had no operation, no ability to connect with Neffert. And I think that is a deficit. So I think, Minister, tonight will tell the story of this legislation. I don't think it's a perfect solution. I will consult with other deputies later today to see how I will vote on it. Thank you. Thank you. Oh my God. You're welcome. Yeah, everything is worth it. You're welcome. You're welcome.
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