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"There was evidence of concern and frustration that those expectations were not met."
Everyone tried hard,but ...
Quarantine hotels were a huge logistical operation set up from scratch and in an exceptionally tight time frame over the weekend of March 27 and March 28"without warning or much time to plan"Mr Ihler observed on Tuesday.
But the hurriedly put together structure"had built-in complications,which themselves were a source of confusion and lack of clarity". While Mr Ihle was at pains to acknowledge the hard work of all those who set up the program,the right people were not always in the right jobs,he said.
"There is nothing to suggest any lack of good faith or effort on the part of anyone involved,"the barrister said.
"However,the evidence also tends to suggest that those tasked with the job were not always the people with the right skill set or resources."
Whose idea were the security guards?
We still don’t know,although the question is to be explored in greater depth in next week’s hearings.
But the inquiry has managed to establish that nobody thought the decision was a big deal,or a bad idea,at the time.
"The evidence suggests that the decision to engage private security guards was apparently not considered controversial at the time,at least not openly,"Mr Ihle said.
"Nothing has been revealed that suggests any person or body expressly or vehemently disagreed with it at the time those decisions were being made.
"But it has proved to be a contentious decision and there is a range of views about whose decision it actually was."
Serious problems with security contracts
The inquiry has heard that ordinary government procurement rules were not followed,with a security firm that had previously been rejected as an approved official supplier winning most of the work of guarding the hotels,Mr Ihle said on Tuesday.
The company,Unified Security,then relied almost entirely on subcontractors who used casual and part-timers to do the job.
The hearings continue on Thursday.
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