Former prime minister Tony Abbott has criticised the national cabinet, arguing that it is an ineffectual co-ordinating committee. Abbott contends that the national cabinet, which has met 46 times so far, is contributing to the lack of a clear delineation of responsibilities between the federal and state governments during the COVID-19 pandemic:
Tony Abbott has decried the “dog’s breakfast” of federal-state relations during the Covid-19 pandemic, saying there is no certainty “about who’s in charge” and the national cabinet of Scott Morrison and premiers is making it worse.
The former Liberal prime minister said there was no clear definition of responsibilities — “who is in charge” and “who is to blame” — and the problem was made worse in recent years as premiers duelled with each other over border closures and blamed the Prime Minister for quarantine and vaccine rollout failures during the coronavirus outbreak.
