The AFR View has completely misdiagnosed the quarantine debate, absolving the federal government of any blame for failures across the nation’s hotel quarantine system:
The idea of a national quarantine system, as backed by federal Labor, is superficially attractive. In theory, this would stop stacking possibly infected returnees in CBD hotels, and spread them out in regional barracks-style accommodation, such as the Northern Territory’s Howard Springs facility. But it runs into the same practical challenges that meant a state government-run hotel quarantine system was opted for when the international border was shut in March 2020.
The federal government still lacks the service delivery capacity to run quarantine facilities. It also lacks the infrastructure…
