Daniel Andrews fronts the hotel quarantine inquiry
It didn’t take long for Premier Daniel Andrews to start throwing people under the bus at the hotel inquiry — the health minister, department secretary and former police chief all went under the wheels in the first 90 minutes.
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The phrase “throwing people under the bus” comes to mind when describing Premier Dan Andrews’ first 90 minutes before the hotel quarantine inquiry.
So far his health Minister, department secretary, and former police chief have gone under the wheels as the premier explains key decisions about the returned travellers scheme.
Who was in charge of the scheme? That would be Jenny Mikakos — who yesterday told the inquiry she wasn’t in charge.
Would he have liked to know that the secretary of the prime minister’s department, Phil Gaetjens, told his department secretary, Chris Eccles, that ADF troops were on offer from April 8?
Absolutely.
Daniel Andrews statement to the Hotel Quarantine Inquiry, released on Friday
The premier said this “would have been significant to me” given he had the impression that troops wouldn’t have been on offer.
Perhaps, it was suggested, this could have led to a change to the entire operational model.
If only Mr Eccles passed the offer along!
And what about former police chief commissioner Graham Ashton, who was telling AFP chums on the day the scheme was announced — March 27 — that the premier’s department had already decided that private security would be patrolling the corridors of the scheme rather than police?
Well, the premier is not sure how the commissioner got that impression but it would not be for his staff to determine an operational model.
“That would be out of character,” he said.
When other matters were brought up, the premier was less forthright.
In fact, it didn’t take long for Dan to draw a blank during his long-awaited appearance at the hotel quarantine inquiry.
That came in relation to the all-important question of exactly who decided private security firms would be used to patrol hotels during the quarantine scheme.
The premier was asked by counsel assisting Rachel Ellyard about whether he had set his mind on March 27 – when the scheme was first announced publicly – to its “enforcement model”.
On March 27, Mr Andrews mentioned in a press conference that police, private security and health officials would be able to monitor guests who are forcibly quarantined.
“I can’t clarify for you or outline for you why I chose those three groups,” he said.
“I have tried to search my recall for this … I cannot recall that”.
The inquiry has been trying to establish who made the decision to use private security, rather than police or the defence force, to monitor guests at hotels.
Mr Andrews has told the inquiry he doesn’t know who made the decision.
But he agreed with counsel assisting Rachel Ellyard that if no one owned the decision it was “concerning”.
“These are some of the issues … I confronted which saw me on the 30th (of June) advise the Governor to appoint the board (of inquiry)”.
“The answers were not obvious,” he said.
The mystery continues.
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