Morrison said commissioner Bret Walker SC got the balance wrong after his line of questioning reduced senior epidemiologist Kelly-Anne Ressler to tears.
“I found that a bit out of line,” Morrison said on 2GB this morning.
“You’ve got to get the balance right on this one and I hope Mr Walker would reflect on that.”
Morrison said public servants should receive more praise for their hard work during the coronavirus period, and that the Australians public should allow more room for honest mistakes.
“[Public servants] have been working day and night for months and months and months,” he said.
“They’re not perfect, they’re not going to get it right every single time.
“I thank her for the great job she’s been trying to do.”
Ressler began to cry as it was suggested there had been a “reprehensible shortcoming” by the department when the cruise ship’s passengers were allowed to disembark in Sydney.
Giving evidence, she admitted things should have been handled differently.
“We did what we could,” she said.
“And if we could do it again, it would be very different.
“It was not our intent.
“Myself and my colleagues in the public health unit are working very hard on this.”
The Special Commission of Inquiry is set to continue holding hearings on Wednesday and Friday with around 10 witnesses expected to give evidence.
