Calls for royal commission into public health directions during Covid

The motion called on the government to establish a royal commission to investigate human rights violations that resulted from public health directions.

Pressure is mounting on the Andrews government to establish a royal commission to investigate the integrity of public health directions implemented throughout the pandemic.

A motion introduced into the upper house of parliament on Wednesday by Liberal Democrat MP Tim Quilty was passed on a voice vote.

It means no member of the Legislative Council challenged the result and a motion was not required.

The motion called on the government to establish the royal commission on a state level to investigate human rights violations that resulted from Covid-19 related public health directions.

It would also examine the harms and expected future harms caused by the directions and provide recommendations to “protect Victorians against harms caused by their government as a result of the use of emergency powers”.

Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton offer the government advice during the pandemic. Picture: Ian Currie

Mr Quilty’s motion also called to publicly note the government’s response had caused “significant harm” to Victorians including a loss of liberty, economic hardship, mental and physical health deterioration and a reduction in the enjoyment of life.

Mr Quilty said emergency powers need “proper safeguards to protect Victorians”.

“This pandemic has exposed how vulnerable Victorians are to abuse of government power,” he said.

“A royal commission will be able to untangle the mess that is the last two years of dictatorial government control.

“It will expose the problems and reveal where reforms are needed. And no doubt it will identify what has been done right.

“It is not about witch-hunting or finger-pointing. It is about finding truth. Victorians deserve to understand why their lives have been up-ended for the last two years.

“If we do not examine properly what happened, if we allow spin and cover-ups to conceal what really happened, we will be doomed to repeat mistakes – and probably worsen them. We must look at this – really look at it - so we can do better next time.”

Mr Quilty argued the last two years had been “dominated by the use of emergency powers”.

“We have been banned from leaving our homes, banned from working, banned from re-entering the state, banned from protesting, forced to wear masks, forced to report our movements, forced to take vaccinations,” he said.

Mr Quilty said the last two years exposed ‘how vulnerable Victorians are to abuse of government power’.

“The government deployed hundreds of riot police to break up protests. They fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into crowds. They intimidated people in their homes and made arrests based on social media posts.”

The opposition have committed to launching a royal commission into the government’s pandemic response, if elected to power in November.

Leader of the opposition in the upper house, David Davis, said an independent royal commission will “get to the bottom of Andrews’ mismanagement of hotel quarantine”.

“Labor’s tame cat committee is next to useless and the Coate Inquiry threw up little more than the widespread amnesia in the top of government from the Premier down,” Mr Davis said.

“Nobody wanted to admit to responsibility for the hotel quarantine fiasco. Of course there should be a royal commission into Daniel Andrews’ blunders and the unnecessary deaths.”

A Victorian government spokesman said: “Our pandemic orders are the most scrutinised in the county and this motion, which does nothing, will not change that.”

Originally published as Calls for royal commission into public health directions during Covid