Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John slammed comments reportedly made by Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka about COVID-19 and the reopening of the border, describing them as “extraordinarily offensive”.
According to the , Ms Hrdlicka said Australia needed to discuss opening the borders as the vaccine rollout ramped up.
"We can't keep [COVID] out forever," Ms Hrdlicka .
Last Tuesday's federal budget assumed Australia's borders would reopen mid-next year.
According to the publication, Ms Hrdlicka said reopening borders “will make us sick but won't put us into hospital,” adding, “some people may die but it will be way smaller than the flu."
Mr Steele-John lives with a disability and as a result, is at a higher risk of developing a serious illness if infected by COVID-19. He said he felt compelled to call out the comments.
“If you look at the cohorts that are most at risk of COVID-19, it's older people, it's First Nations people, it's disabled people. We are human Venn diagrams of risk when it comes to COVID-19,” he told ABC News Breakfast.
“When we talk about changing policy settings and accepting that people may die because it will boost the bottom line of a corporation like Virgin, we need to be very clear who we are talking about.”
The senator was not the only person outraged by Ms Hrdlicka’s comments, which also caused a storm on social media.
“Sorry kids, Grandpa's dead because an airline CEO needed to make her targets,” one person tweeted.
“I find it unusual that an airline CEO would hold the view that death by design failure is an acceptable strategy!” another added.
While one user joked, "Let them eat cake -Marie Antoinette 1789. Let them die" - Jayne Hrdlicka CEO @VirginAustralia 2021.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemned Ms Hrdlicka's comments on Tuesday, saying “I regret that those comments were somewhat insensitive.”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison during a visit to Castle Hill Medical Centre to preview the COVID-19 vaccination program February 21, 2021 Source: AAP
“You know, 910 Australians have lost their lives. Every single one of those lives was a terrible tragedy, and it doesn't matter how old they were,” he said at a press conference.
“Some were younger, some were older. They were someone's mum, someone's dad, someone's auntie, someone’s cousin, brother, sister, friend. 910 - all felt extremely consciously by those loved ones around them.”
When asked by ABC’s RN Breakfast about Ms Hrdlicka’s comments, Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said “the federal government takes its advice from the chief medical officer, not CEOs of corporate companies.”
But not everyone was critical of the Virgin Australia boss. Nationals Senator Matt Canavan said those who had attacked her comments were “doing so a little opportunistically” given it was impossible to reduce the risk to zero.
“Obviously Ms Hrdlicka put it very, very starkly there but that is the facts," he told Sky News.
“The comments yesterday were starkly put but it probably is about time we have this conversation because we cannot stay under the doona forever.”
The Feed contacted Virgin Australia for comment and a spokesperson referred us to a .
“Virgin Australia has and will continue to work closely with both State and Federal governments to support the health and safety of the Australian community,” the statement read.
“We agree with State and Federal leaders that eradication of COVID-19 cannot be the goal for our country. The question is not if, but when we will be sufficiently vaccinated to protect our people and our hospital system to open our international borders.”
“We must learn to live with COVID-19 in the community in a way that protects the health and safety of our people but also opens Australia up to the rest of the world.”
