FRESH CASE IN GEELONG

VICTORIA’S chief health officer says he wasn’t involved in a controversial decision to use private security to control the state’s bungled hotel quarantine operations.

On Thursday, Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville was the only minister put up to speak publicly on the hotel fiasco, with the Premier refusing to front the media. But she repeatedly refused to answer questions about the hotel quarantine program, saying it was the subject of a judicial inquiry.

As pressure on the State Government intensified, Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien called for Health Minister Jenny Mikakos to be sacked.

Mr O’Brien said it was time for heads to roll over the coronavirus crisis that had remerged this week and sent more than 300,000 Victorians back into lockdown.

“This has been a complete and utter debacle,” Mr O’Brien said.

“It’s time for the health minister who’s responsible for this mess to pay the price, and she should pay the price by being sacked.

“The reason this second outbreak has occurred is because the Government failed to secure these returned travellers properly.

“The reason why these return travellers were put into quarantine was because they were a health risk to themselves and to the Victorian community.

“There has to be accountability for this, and this means the health minister has to go,” he said.

A $3 million judicial inquiry, to be headed by Justice Jennifer Coate, will examine the Government’s handling of hotel operations and the private contractors employed to monitor the program.

When repeatedly questioned about why the Government went against National Cabinet advice and hired private contractors, Ms Neville said that would be a matter for the inquiry.

“It was a 24-hour turnaround on the decision on hotel quarantine,” she said.

“It was for agencies to work out the best system to do that, to get hotels who put their hand up at that time.

“It worked very quickly. Let’s see what the inquiry says about that decision.”

Ms Neville said the inquiry could decide to call ministers to speak as part of its investigation.

When asked whose recommendation it was to have private security operate Victoria’s hotel quarantine program, Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton said he had no involvement.

“It wasn’t mine,” Prof Sutton said.

“I haven’t been involved in the governance and operation, but it was jointly oversighted by emergency management within DHHS (and) emergency management Victoria Department of Jobs Precincts and Regions.”