Health officer ‘unfit for office’ after comparing Cook’s arrival to coronavirus

The Prime Minister has criticised Victoria's deputy chief health officer, urging her to 'stick to her day job' after she took to Twitter to compare Captain Cook's arrival in Australia to the coronavirus pandemic. Dr Annaliese van Diemen marked Wednesday's 250th anniversary of Captain Cook’s arrival by tweeting: “Sudden arrival of an invader from another land, decimating populations, creating terror. Forces the population to make enormous sacrifices & completely change how they live in order to survive. COVID19 or Cook 1770?" Prime Minister Scott Morrison stopped short of calling for Dr van Diemen’s scalp, but said she was undermining public confidence in her position at a time when it was needed most. “I found those comments very disappointing. She clearly wouldn’t get the job as chief historian,” he said. “But when it comes to medical advice, I implore the work she’s doing as a medical officer in Victoria. That’s her expertise and I would strongly recommend she keep to that because those sorts of comments don’t inspire confidence. “People should stick to their day jobs.” Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton went a step further, calling for the state’s deputy chief health officer to be sacked. “It’s pretty obvious in the middle of a pandemic, the second-highest medical officer in the state of Victoria should actually be concentrating on the people of Victoria and the crisis associated with COVID-19,” he said. “Instead, she’s off running culture war debates. She’s unfit for that office and she should go.” Victoria’s Health Minister is standing by Dr van Diemen, saying “the Deputy Chief Health Officer is doing an outstanding job protecting Victorians from this pandemic. Criticism from angry MPs is irrelevant to the fight against this virus”. Image: News Corp Australia

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