Ten warehouses infested with RATs: Did WA ignore common sense during COVID?

Western Australia’s public purse watchdog has levelled scathing criticism at the McGowan government over the transparency and handling of its half-a-billion-dollar rapid antigen test procurement program embarked on during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In her financial audits results report released on Wednesday, Auditor General Caroline Spencer paid particular attention to the RAT procurement program that cost the state $580 million but escaped oversight because the tests were obtained under the state’s opaque emergency purchasing guidelines.

She revealed the extraordinary lengths the government went to procure the RATs, including chartering a flight – at a cost to taxpayers of $2.9 million – to pick up 2.5 million RATs from South Korea.

She also found the government had significant issues storing the RATs when they arrived and had to increase Health Support Services’ warehousing capacity from two warehouses to 10.

Spencer was shocked to find out how quickly the procurement program escalated and blasted the government for not pausing to consider the impacts.

“There was no methodology behind what was considered enough tests and therefore the situation now is that the State has arguably purchased too many tests, at great public cost,” she said.

“An initial intention by health entities to spend $3 million on RATs for health workers and returning travellers rapidly evolved to purchasing $440 million worth of RATs – around twice the cost of the Bunbury Hospital redevelopment.

“Along with the $140 million spent by the Department of Finance on RATs, public entities spent the equivalent of 10 per cent of the state’s 2022 operating surplus on diagnostic plastics without demonstrable evidence of clear, considered and coordinated planning or ongoing advice as to the necessity of the expenditure.