Coronavirus Victoria: Dan Andrews to introduce bill to extend state of emergency

The Opposition has come out swinging against Dan Andrews’ bid to extend Victoria’s coronavirus rules until the end of the year, claiming he is ‘drunk on power’.

The Victorian Opposition has come out swinging as they attempt to thwart Daniel Andrews’ plan to extend the state of emergency until the end of the year.

Mr Andrews confirmed on Tuesday the government would introduce a bill into parliament to extend Victoria’s state of emergency past its maximum legislated period of 12 months.

Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House, David Davis, labelled it “another grab for power” by the Premier.

“Daniel Andrews, he is drunk on power,” Mr Davis said on Tuesday afternoon.

“He is determined to take huge power to himself and his government and I say with that power comes enormous responsibility.”

The Premier declared a state of emergency in Victoria on March 16, 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

It has been extended in four-week periods since that date, but the government will need to pass new laws in order to extend it for longer than 12 months.

The bill will attempt to extend the state of emergency until December 15 this year.

The state of emergency allows the chief health officer to legally introduce directions to help stop the spread of coronavirus, such as mask wearing and stay-at-home restrictions.

But Mr Davis said the Opposition would oppose the bill as they believed a nine-month extension was too long.

“That is a grab for power – month-to-month or three monthly extensions are much more justified and they should be accompanied by the full release of information on each of the orders that are made under those provisions through that period,” he said.

COVID-19 drive-through testing at the Melbourne Showgrounds. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

“The house has repeatedly sought documents from the government relating to each and every one of its health orders.

“The Premier has always said he is relying on health advice, well, none of us have ever seen that health advice because he won’t release it.

“Victorians are entitled to see that information, it’s their life that is being altered, it’s their lives that are being restricted, and it’s their movement that’s being impeded.

“If your business has been closed, if your lifestyle has been restricted, it may be for good reason but the onus falls on government to show that reason and prove the reason, to show the information and the scientific material on which that’s based.”

Mr Davis said the Opposition would again seek to amend the bill to make sure the documents containing the health advice were tabled in parliament and publicly available to Victorians.

The Premier stressed earlier on Tuesday the bill would not mean new rules would suddenly be introduced.

He said the extension was needed for “legal certainty” for coronavirus measures, such as having returning Australian come home through mandatory quarantine.

“These rules are all about staying safe and staying open,” the Premier said.

“We can’t go to a situation where there are no rules.

Premier, Daniel Andrews announces a bill to extend the state of emergency until December 15. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ David Crosling

“I’m very confident we will have that good faith, constructive discussion with any and all members of parliament who want to be engaged and that we will get this passed.

“We can’t have mandatory quarantine unless we have a rule book, and you can’t have rules unless they’ve got legal authority, and that’s what the state of emergency gives us.

“This is not about new rules. This is just about keeping the current rules in place and potentially loosening them off as conditions continue to get better.”

The bill would be expected to easily pass the lower house where the government has a clear majority, but the Premier may need to negotiate with the crossbench to get the bill through the upper house.

Mr Andrews said extending the state of emergency was not a “particularly complex thing” but rather common sense.

The Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 initially only allowed for a state of emergency to be extended to a maximum of six months.

Liberal MLC David Davis said the Opposition would oppose the bill. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

But the Andrews government negotiated a new coronavirus clause in September last year that saw the maximum period extended to 12 months in respect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They are now attempting to get the maximum period extended by a further nine months to a total of 21 months.

The first direction imposed by chief health officer Brett Sutton on March 16, 2020 when the state of emergency was declared was to ban non-essential mass gatherings of more than 500 people, such as cultural events, sporting events or conferences.

That direction has since been superseded by the COVIDSafe summer public events framework which allows Victorians to gather in larger numbers at approved organised events, such as the Boxing Day Test and the Australian Open.

Under a state of emergency, authorised officers, at the direction of the chief health officer, can act to eliminate or reduce a serious risk to public health by detaining people, restricting movement, preventing entry to premises, or providing any other direction an authorised officer considers reasonable to protect public health.

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Originally published as Coronavirus Victoria: Dan Andrews to introduce bill to extend state of emergency