Scott Morrison defends Covid response amid King’s Birthday Honours controversy

Scott Morrison has defended his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic amid controversy over his King’s Birthday Honours award.

The former prime minister was voted out of the country’s top job in 2022 as the most unpopular leader since 1987, according to poll analysis.

From his blunderous response to the devastating 2019-20 bushfire season to his handling of the Brittany Higgins saga, Mr Morrison’s prime ministerial stint was marred by controversies.

But his Covid response has emerged as a particular point of controversy, with critics accusing him of being both too slow to react and too quick to slash individual liberties.

Reflecting on his prime ministership, Mr Morrison said he served at an “incredibly challenging time”.

“We really hadn’t seen the combination of forces, whether they be natural disasters, pandemics, threats of China – you name it, they threw it all at us,” he told Sydney talkback station 2GB.

“And the Australian people were amazing.”

Asked specifically about updated official advice against vaccinating “healthy infants, children or adolescents who do not have medical conditions that increase their risk of severe illness”, Mr Morrison said he was acting on the advice he got “at the time”.

“The voracious nature of the pandemic at that time is very different to what it is today,” he said.

“And when they make these assessments, it’s in relation to what the threat is at that time.”

Mr Morrison also said there was “great debate” in the national cabinet – a forum where the prime minister, state premiers and territory chief ministers meet to co-ordinate countrywide approaches to issues – about shutting down schools

“We didn’t agree on everything, and every state had the right because they had the constitutional authority to make whatever decisions they did,” he said.

“National cabinet tried to bring that together as much as possible. And we had those arguments we have probably like any normal cabinet, and we didn’t always agree on anything and certainly on kids staying home from school.”

He added that it was “one thing I never supported”.

“I think it was a shame that that happened, but that’s it … it was a global pandemic,” Mr Morrison said.

“There’s no rule book for that. We had prepared this plan going in which we followed, and that said, you know, Australia came out of it stronger, both from a health perspective and an economic perspective, more than any other major developed country in the world, and that is a great credit to Australians.”

A governmental review of the pandemic response outlined grave failures.

Speed and poor communication at federal and state levels were just some of the key failings detailed in the 866-page report, which found Australians were now far less likely to follow basic pandemic response measures.

It recommended that a future public health emergency response should consider “fairness and proportionality when implementing and enforcing restrictive measures”.

What’s open over the long weekend

Millions of Australians are gearing up for a long weekend in celebration of King Charles III’s 76th birthday.

The public holiday is celebrated by most of the country in June; however, those in Western Australia and Queensland will have to wait until later in the year to catch an extended break.

For those in NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory, here’s what you need to know about what’s open and when on the Monday public holiday.

Coles

• VIC: all stores open
• NSW/ACT: all stores open
• TAS: all stores open
• NT: all stores open with reduced trading hours
• SA: all supermarkets closed except for the following stores:

Woolworths

• VIC: all stores open
• NSW/ACT: all stores open
• TAS: all stores open
• SA: some store are open, customers are encouraged to check their local stores' trading hours on the Woolworths Store Finder for specific trading hours
• NT: some store are open, customers are encouraged to check their local stores' trading hours on the Woolworths Store Finder for specific trading hours

Some Woolworths Metro stores are open, but customers are again encouraged to check their local stores' trading hours on the Woolworths Store Finder for specific trading hours.

Kmart

• VIC: all stores open
• NSW: all stores open
• SA: some stores open, including:
• TAS: all stores open
• NT: all stores open

Liquorland

• NSW/ACT: all stores are open for trade except:
• VIC: all stores are open for trade except:
• SA: all stores are open for trade except:
• TAS: all stores are open for trade
• NT: all stores are open for trade except:
• WA: all stores are open for trade except for:

Dan Murphy’s and BWS

Most stores will be 10am-7pm across the states observing the King’s Birthday public holiday. However some hours may vary store to store, and customers can check their local store’s trading hours online for specific trading hours.

IGA

As IGA stores are independently-owned, the hours will differ between stores – some stores will be trading as normal while others may have restricted hours. IGA customers can check trading hours with their local IGA or online.

Big W

Most Big W stores are open, but customers are encouraged to check for their local stores on the Big W Store Finder for specific trading hours.

• VIC: all stores are open, with operating hours at 10am to varied hours between 5pm to 9pm.
• SA: all stores are closed with exception:
• NSW/ACT: all stores are open, with operating hours at 9am to varied hours between 5pm to 9pm.
• TAS: all stores are open, with operating hours at 10am to 6pm.
• NT: all stores are open, with operating hours at 9am to 5pm.

ALDI

Aldi stores in NSW, ACT and Victoria will operate as per normal, with no change to trading hours. However trading hours may vary in SA, and customers are advised to visit the Aldi store locator for more information on individual store trading hours.

Westfield

• ACT: all locations will be open from 10am to 4pm
• NSW:
• VIC: all locations will be open from 10am to 5pm
• SA: all locations will be closed.

Bunnings

• VIC: all stores will be open from 7am to 7pm
• NSW/ACT: all stores will be open from 7am to 7pm
• TAS: all stores will be open from 7am to 7pm
• SA: all stores will be open from 9am to 5pm
• NT: all stores will be open from 7am to 7pm
• NSW: operating hours will vary, customers are encouraged to visit the Bunnings website for specific trading hours.

All trade centres across Victoria, ACT/NSW, AA, NT and Tasmania will be closed.