PoliticalClaims.au

The claim contains both a factually incorrect assertion and a misrepresentation of constitutional responsibility sharing during COVID-19.

Constitution Section 51(ix)

The claim is correct that the Constitution grants quarantine powers to the Commonwealth. Section 51(ix) of the Australian Constitution states that the Parliament can make laws regarding "Quarantine" [1]. This power has been interpreted as giving the federal government primary constitutional responsibility for quarantine matters [2].

Federal Quarantine Facilities Construction - CLAIM IS FALSE

Contrary to the claim's assertion that the Coalition "built no quarantine centers," the federal government actively constructed and operated federal quarantine facilities:

Howard Springs Facility (Northern Territory)

The Morrison government established the Howard Springs Quarantine Facility (Centre for National Resilience) in the Northern Territory, which opened in October 2020 [3]. This facility was:

• Originally a disused workers' camp repurposed by the federal government
• Operated by the Australian Medical Assistance Team (AUSMAT) on behalf of the Commonwealth
• Recognized as Australia's "gold standard" quarantine facility with no documented community transmission from over 30,000 residents [4]
• Expanded multiple times under Morrison government direction, with capacity eventually reaching 2,000 arrivals per fortnight [5]

Mickleham Facility (Victoria)

The Morrison government also committed $200+ million to construct a purpose-built federal quarantine facility at Mickleham, Victoria [6]. This facility:

• Was formally approved and construction began in August 2021
• Opened in February 2022 with a total cost of $580 million
• Operated under federal Commonwealth oversight as a "Centre for National Resilience"
• Provided 500 bed capacity and operated for seven months before closure in October 2022 when domestic travel borders reopened [7]

Proposed Canberra and Tasmania Facilities

The federal government also announced plans to establish quarantine facilities in Canberra and Tasmania [8], though these appear not to have progressed to the same extent as Howard Springs and Mickleham.

Responsibility Division - PARTIALLY CORRECT

The claim correctly identifies that state and territorial governments handled the majority of quarantine responsibility through hotel quarantine. However, this requires important context:

Constitutional Agreement vs. Abdication

The states and territories did not simply receive this responsibility due to federal negligence. Rather:

• In March 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison reached an explicit agreement with state and territory leaders [9]
• States and territories voluntarily agreed to run hotel quarantine despite the federal constitutional responsibility [10]
• States agreed to fund the majority of hotel quarantine operations themselves [11]
• This arrangement persisted throughout 2020-2021, during which hotel quarantine was the primary mechanism (with federal facilities serving specialized roles)

Reasons for Arrangement

According to ABC analysis, the states and territories accepted this arrangement for several reasons:

• They needed federal Centrelink systems to support isolated workers [12]
• They lacked confidence in Commonwealth public health administration, citing failures in federally-regulated aged care [13]
• Interstate border control required state coordination [14]
• The federal government benefited by avoiding financial costs and political fallout from systemic failures [15]