Deputy premier Steven Miles tells estimates the total government spend for isolation facility exceeded $200m
“There is no longer a public health requirement for dedicated, government-provided quarantine and isolation facilities,” he told a budget estimates hearing on Wednesday.Miles said other uses for the site will be considered during the lease period, which runs until April.“It supported individuals with isolation accommodation in a range of circumstances, particularly those most vulnerable in the community,” Miles said.
He said it was easy to forget how uncertain the future was at the beginning of the pandemic and he was proud of the government’s response.Sign up to receive the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning The cost of Wellcamp equated to about $325,000 a person who used the facility, the state’s opposition said.
“This was a trigger-happy decision to try and wedge the former federal government and this waste could have funded nearly 2,500 nurses in the middle of a health crisis.”Until Wednesday the government had consistently declined to outline the full cost of Wellcamp, citing commercial in-confidence arrangements.
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