Peter Gutwein must stop using the State Controller as a human shield and take responsibility for the essential worker process.
Shadow Minister for Building and Construction Jen Butler said the Premier's comments this afternoon show a man trying to distance himself from a scandal.
"Peter Gutwein can't on one hand be the Premier and front man of the COVID-19 crisis and on the other pretend the essential worker process is nothing to do with him.
"It's laughable for him to say that a consultant needed to be physically present in Tasmania to 'sign off on the opening of a hotel', at a time when stringent border requirements are supposed to be in place.
"The entire essential worker process needs to be reviewed, and recalibrated to put Tasmanians first.
"Peter Gutwein handballs responsibility to the State Controller, who has made it very clear he and his department are not responsible for workforce capacity testing.
"The Premier of Tasmania should be standing up for Tasmanian jobs, and standing up for public health. That means overseeing a process that means nobody enters the state on a quarantine exemption unless they are genuinely an essential worker."
Jen Butler
Shadow Minister for Building and Construction
