‘Show us the road out’
Senator blasts Andrews over planning failure
GEELONG-based Liberal senator Sarah Henderson has called for details from Premier Daniel Andrews and the state government on the “road out” of coronavirus restrictions.
Mr Andrews says it is still too soon for the state to ease restrictions despite new daily cases stabilising in recent days.
“I understand and appreciate fully that everybody wants that clear sense of what the next steps will be, but they need to be announcements that can be relied up on,” Mr Andrews said.
“They need to be announcements that are based in the best of health advice, in data, in science, in the evidence, and what we can be certain of right now, these case numbers are too high for us to open up, and they are still too high for us to put forward a definitive plan. Now, there will be a plan. It will come soon. But it will be one that we can be confident of.”
Mr Andrews said it was still unclear what the weeks and months ahead looked like.
“All of us have to stay the course on this and defeat this second wave comprehensively, otherwise we won’t be able to lock into a COVID normal with any certainty,” he said.
He said current restrictions allowed any outbreaks to be contained quicker.
Senator Henderson said Victorians understood the need for health restrictions, including those made using state of emergency powers, but restrictions must be proportionate to the public health risk, justifiable and temporary.
“I have raised deep concerns about some restrictions which have closed businesses on what appears to be arbitrary and inconsistent grounds,” Senator Henderson said.
“Daniel Andrews and the Victorian government need to talk a lot more about the road out than a longer road in … the Victorian government must only be given the power to impose proportionate, necessary, short-term emergency restrictions.”
Senator Henderson said the state government’s “failure to deliver any sort of plan to reopen the economy” was irresponsible, undermining business confidence and causing growing despair.