Brett Sutton may face just 10 minutes of questioning over ‘slug gate’

Chief health officer Brett Sutton is set to face a “slug gate” scandal probe, but the time frames for questioning have been slammed.

Ian Cook (centre), the owner of I Cook Foods, says a parliamentary inquiry into the slug gate saga is a “circus”.

I Cook Foods boss Ian Cook has slammed tight time frames for questioning of senior health officials by a parliamentary inquiry.

Five Department of Health and Human Services figures have been allocated a combined 75 minutes when legal and social issues committee hearings resume next Wednesday night.

The parliamentary website shows chief health officer Brett Sutton, deputy chief health officer Angie Bone and three other DHHS officials are scheduled to appear between 7.30pm and 8.45pm.

Mr Cook said by the time they were introduced and made their opening remarks, there would be under 10 minutes each left for questioning.

“It is disrespectful. It is almost contemptuous,” Mr Cook said. “It makes a mockery of the parliamentary committee system. It turns it into a circus.”

Chief health officer Brett Sutton. Picture: Sarah Matray

It is expected that Mr Sutton will be asked if he had acted outside of his authority in closing the company and why he did so when there was evidence showing I Cook Foods’ sandwiches had not infected an elderly woman with listeria at Knox Private Hospital in 2019.

Also on Wednesday night’s agenda are three City of Greater Dandenong employees.

They are chief executive officer John Bennie, environmental health officer Elizabeth Garlick and public health co-ordinator Leanne Johnson.

The I Cook Foods hearings ran last year but were reopened after new evidence surfaced in recent months.

Inquiries are typically held at night when they clash with days that require politicians to be in parliament.

But on Saturday, it was revealed Victorian parliament would not sit this week due to stage 4 lockdown restrictions.

This has left the door open for the I Cook Foods probe schedule to be changed a different time or day.

Originally published as Brett Sutton may face just 10 minutes of questioning over ‘slug gate’