Ebola threat: Scott Morrison pushing for Operation Sovereign Borders to take over response to virus AM 23 Oct 2014, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison is pushing for his Operation Sovereign Borders team to take control of Australia's Ebola response with new powers to force visitors from West Africa to be isolated in quarantine. The ABC can reveal the ambitious plan as the nation's state and federal chief medical officers meet today to discuss the response to the deadly virus. Mr Morrison let his colleagues know he believed he and his department could take on a larger role in responding to the Ebola outbreak. The ABC's AM program has been given accounts of discussions inside Cabinet's National Security Committee. Sources said Mr Morrison suggested introducing strict new mandatory quarantine measures for anyone arriving in Australia from Ebola-affected regions of West Africa. They said Mr Morrison flagged that a hard-lined quarantine approach could be best run by his existing Operation Sovereign Borders team. One minister told AM the Immigration Minister's approach is "annoying everyone on the National Security Committee because he's not across all the facts on Ebola". "He doesn't have access to what the chief medical officer is advising the Health Minister," Mr Morrison said. A source familiar with the Cabinet discussions said the Immigration Minister was frustrated by the approach of the chief medical officer and the way Health Department was advising the Government. Another senior Coalition source said Mr Morrison's behaviour was "out of control" and his "ego" was "getting in the way of his judgement". In recent weeks, two ministers have publically pushed backed on incursions into their portfolios. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop made it clear she would fight any attempt to cut the foreign aid budget and scotched an idea to develop a homeland security department championed by Mr Morrison. Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce, meanwhile, was adamant he would not let responsibility for biosecurity leave his portfolio. |
