COVID-19 in WA: Half of West Aussies feel more should have been done to prepare State to reopen on Feb 5

Just over half of West Australians believe the McGowan Government could have done more to prepare WA for a February 5 border reopening. The latest People Voice Poll for The West Australian asked: “To what extent do you agree the McGowan Government could have done more to prepare WA to open up on February 5?” The survey of 637 WA residents, conducted by Painted Dog Research after the opening was pushed back, found 51 per cent agreed more could have been done, including 28 per cent who “strongly agreed”. Just 28 per cent of respondents believed the Government had fully prepared WA to cope with the inevitable surge in cases once the State reconnected with the world, while 20 per cent were “neutral”. The findings showed there was a gender and generational divide on the perception of WA’s preparedness for living with COVID-19. Fifty-seven per cent of men agreed more could have been done to prepare for the planned opening, compared to 46 per cent of women. Those aged 18 to 29 were the most likely to believe more could have been done (65 per cent), followed by the 30 to 39 cohort (55 per cent), 40 to 49 (53 per cent), 50 to 59 (41 per cent), 60 to 69 (52 per cent) and the over 70s (37 per cent). A majority of West Australians supported Mark McGowan’s decision to delay lifting the border, with 71 per cent in favour and 29 per cent against. Support for remaining shielded by the border increased depending on the age of the respondent, with 64 per cent of 18 to 34-year-olds backing the delay, compared to 72 per cent of those aged 35 to 54 and 79 per cent of the over 55s. Women more likely than men to support the Premier’s controversial call, 74 per cent to 69 per cent respectively. Wealthier households earning over $150,000 were the most likely to support the delay. Mr McGowan has argued the February 5 opening was based on the Delta variant but Omicron meant WA needed a higher third dose rate -- currently 28.7 per cent -- to combat the seeding of hundreds of cases when the border reopens. “What we’re trying to do is save lives and save jobs at the same time, whilst getting our third dose vaccination rate up and our children’s vaccination rate up and not introducing thousands of new cases whilst the Eastern States is peaking,” he said. After his Press Club address in Canberra, Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese said the Premier had done an “outstanding job” and he would not second guess his decision-making on the border. “One of the things I do know about WA, under Premier McGowan is that WA’s economy has been the strongest in Australia, WA’s exports have kept the national economy going, people in WA have been able to have dinner, they’ve been able to associate and go to each other’s houses, they’ve been able to go to the pub, they’ve been able to play footy, and they hosted the grand final last year,” he said. Separate polling by Essential Research released showed support for the WA Government’s response to COVID had dropped from 78 per cent in mid-December to 66 per cent this week. This was still the highest approval rating for any State, but the lowest for WA in the past year.