A senior health official has been told to stick to her day job by the prime minister after likening COVID-19 to Captain Cook's arrival in Australia.
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Victoria's Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen faced calls to resign on Friday for her controversial tweet posted on the 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook's landing.
"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. COVID-19 or Cook 1770?" she tweeted on Wednesday.
Scott Morrison said he found the comments "very disappointing" and urged the official to stick to her public health work.
"She clearly wouldn't get the job as chief historian," he told 2GB radio on Friday.
"I applaud the work she is doing as a medical officer in Victoria, that's her expertise, I would strongly suggest she keep to that, because those sort of comments don't inspire confidence."
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews insists Dr van Diemen is doing an "amazing job" and that he is focused on the lives and jobs being lost to coronavirus, instead of her views.
"I am far more focused on the fact that hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs. People have died. This is a once-in-a-century event and we're by no means at the end of it," he told reporters on Friday.
"I've got no comment to make about any member of the public health team, other than to say on behalf of all Victorians, thank you for the work you're doing, because it is making a massive difference."
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told the Nine network Dr van Diemen has been running "culture war debates", and declared: "She is unfit for that office and she should go".
Victorian opposition leader Michael O'Brien accused the premier of failing to take the issue seriously, saying Dr van Dieman should resign for breaching the public sector code of conduct.
The code stipulates public servants "only make public comment when specifically authorised to do so in relation to their duties, a public sector body, or government policies and programs".
"She's shown a lack of judgement which has impacted her ability to do the job," Mr O'Brien told reporters.
Australian Associated Press
