MARK DREYFUS
SHADOW ATTORNEY-GENERAL
SHADOW MINISTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
MEMBER FOR ISAACS

MADELEINE KING MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR TRADE
MEMBER FOR BRAND

The High Court has today delivered a humiliating rebuff to the Morrison Government and the Western Australian Liberals over their support for Clive Palmer’s bid to tear down WA’s border controls against COVID-19.
 
The Court has ruled that the McGowan Government’s border restrictions are constitutional, upholding both the directions and emergency laws and ordering Clive Palmer to pay costs.
 
Attorney-General Christian Porter and the Morrison Government threw the weight of the Commonwealth behind Clive Palmer’s failed challenge to Western Australia’s border laws.
 
They sent the Commonwealth Solicitor-General, backed by the Australian Government Solicitor, to intervene in support of Clive Palmer’s challenge, and over three days called multiple witnesses, vigorously cross-examined Western Australia’s public health experts and produced evidence designed to force open the state’s borders.
 
The Commonwealth eventually backed out of the challenge in the face of a massive backlash, but only after the damage had been done and millions of dollars spent supporting Clive Palmer.
 
The Morrison Government has repeatedly refused to say how much this farce has cost Australian taxpayers, hiding behind the ongoing High Court case.
 
That excuse no longer exists and the Morrison Government must reveal immediately how much it spent helping Clive Palmer.
 
The people of WA will not forget this.