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'Paralysis': Former health minister lashes government over lockdown pause
By Noel Towell and Paul Sakkal
Former Victorian health minister Jenny Mikakos has led a storm of criticism of Premier Daniel Andrews after his announcement on Sunday of a "cautious pause" in Melbourne opening up from its three-month COVID-19 lockdown.
Ms Mikakos said the government was suffering "paralysis in decision-making", while Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Sunday's move was a "profound disappointment". And business groups want the northern Melbourne suburbs involved in the latest outbreak to be isolated from the rest of the city.
After repeatedly foreshadowing a windback of the city's coronavirus restrictions over the past week, Mr Andrews said on Sunday that the cluster in the northern suburbs meant more time was needed.
It prompted a fierce reaction, including from the peak business lobby group, lord mayor Sally Capp and Ms Mikakos, who resigned her position after Mr Andrews sheeted home responsibility to her for the hotel quarantine system in his evidence to the inquiry into the troubled scheme.
Ms Mikakos said the state had met a key threshold in its road map for easing restrictions, with the daily new case average for the past 14 days dipping below five.
In a tweet she said some people had thought that was "unachievable".
"This was a very cautious target. 6/7 of new cases are related to a known outbreak so the risk is manageable," she tweeted on Sunday morning. "The set reopening is gradual and safe so any delay is unnecessary. It’s paralysis in decision-making."
Jenny Mikakos.Credit: Paul Jeffers
Mr Andrews declined to respond to Ms Mikakos' comments.
"I have nothing to say about those comments. Nothing whatsoever," he said.
In a joint statement, Mr Morrison, federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Health Minister Greg Hunt said Sunday’s developments were a "profound disappointment".
"At some point, you have to move forward and put your public health systems to work in a bid to reclaim the jobs that have been lost, and rescue the livelihoods and peace of mind of so many Victorians who have been affected by the inability to contain the outbreak that led to the second Victorian wave," the Prime Minister and his colleagues said.
"The decision to keep businesses closed suggests that there is still not sufficient confidence within the government that their systems can support reopening."
State Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien said he was angry after the Premier’s press conference.
"Once again, Daniel Andrews has moved the goalposts on all Victorians," he said.
"We’ve done the hard work, we’ve made the sacrifices, we've endured the pain, and once again Daniel Andrews says, 'Oh, just a few more days.'
"Who can trust this Premier any more, who can have any confidence in this Premier for one day longer?"
The Victorian head of the Australian Industry Group, Tim Piper, called for the suburbs experiencing the outbreak to be isolated from the rest of Melbourne.
"When you’ve got so few cases and they’re all in northern melbourne, surely other areas can be open, east, west, other areas can be open and just isolate those areas where we know that are concerns," Mr Piper said.
Melbourne lord mayor Sally Capp said the news was "bitterly" disappointing.
With Mat Dunckley and Mike Foley