If Scott Morrison needs to travel in a pandemic, and is rightly classed as an essential worker, there's little else ACT health authorities can do than grant him the appropriate exemption.

Politicians aren't like the rest of us. The rules will be a bit different, in a reasonable acknowledgment that the role of a country's political leader is unique.

But that doesn't mean the travel looks any good, or meets the expectations of the public.

By applying for an exemption to re-enter the ACT after a one-day trip to Sydney at the weekend, Mr Morrison has put ACT authorities in a very awkward position.

The details of the trip are not really the point. Mr Morrison has dismissed the criticism, taken aim at "cheap politics" and said there was a lot of "misinformation" about the trip.

Yet plenty of Australians couldn't see their families at the weekend, and have been asked to abide by restrictive rules for a greater community good. Why not the PM?

Now it looks like ACT health authorities have assisted the Prime Minister in getting around the rules the rest of us have to follow. Note the difference between appearances and reality.

ACT chief health officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said it was not up to her to make an assessment as to whether Mr Morrison's travel was essential. He did the right thing, had an exemption granted and is complying with its conditions.

Amid the furore on Tuesday over Mr Morrison's weekend getaway, there was a very different mood at the ACT's daily COVID press conference.

COVID press conferences in the ACT are generally sedate affairs, sitting in the middle ground between a leader's televised address to the territory and a forum for robust questioning.

On Tuesday, reporters from the federal press gallery joined the proceedings, ready to press the ACT's leaders and officials on Mr Morrison's exemption.

A press conference on television is really a behind-the-scenes chance to see how journalism is done.

It's not always a pretty process, but journalists need to extract details for the public they serve.

ACT authorities answered questions about why a Prime Minister would get an exemption when others could not. ACT Health, however, is not responsible for the grave misjudgment on the part of Mr Morrison.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr wouldn't be drawn on the issue, except to note he understood people's anger.

Dr Coleman said she would not be able to comment on individual exemptions, and health authorities had to work on trust when people declared their activities were essential.

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Those answers weren't the most satisfying - but nothing will be in this instance. There was plenty of journalistic badgering that followed to elicit more detail, hardly enjoyable for anyone.

Ultimately, though, the Prime Minister's actions have undermined the spirit that keeps public health restrictions functioning and effective: that we're all in this together.

That isn't the ACT's fault - and territory officials were put in a tight spot on Tuesday when they had to answer for it.

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