Hotel quarantine inquiry delayed till late December
The hotel quarantine inquiry has left open the possibility of further public hearings, before the program restarts before Christmas.
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The hotel quarantine inquiry has left open the possibility of further public hearings, as the government moves to restart the stalled program by the end of November.
Board of inquiry chair Jennifer Coate confirmed on Thursday the board would not meet its November 6 deadline, and would instead hand down findings and recommendations by December 21.
The delay follows the discovery of documents withheld from the inquiry by the Department of Health and Human Services, and an 11th-hour move by the inquiry to obtain phone records from the Premier’s private office.
Ms Coate will provide an interim report to the government on November 6, with recommendations on how a future program should be run.
Premier Daniel Andrews, who suspended the program after security guards caught COVID-19 from infected quarantined guests and seeded Victoria’s deadly second wave, said this meant he could likely reopen it from the end of November.
Mr Andrews said the board would “split their reporting into two’’ and “practical matters’’ relating to a new quarantine program would be reported as planned.
The further report, which could include adverse findings against those involved in the bungled program, will be delayed by up to six weeks, and the board has retained the option of further public hearings.
A decision will be made once all outstanding documents have been received and reviewed in the next two weeks. Mr Andrews said the government remained committed to reopening the program for Australians returning from overseas by Christmas.
“There will be discussions happening already or over the course of next week with Melbourne Airport and others to make sure we are ready to stand up with the new model,’’ he said.
“This is subject to whatever the board gives us and we need to know what the recommendations are.’’
He said it was likely overseas flights could return to Melbourne from the end of November.
“I think this needs to be done with a great deal of care, done properly,’’ he said, referring to the second wave of infections and deaths now sweeping across Europe, Asia, and the escalating 80,000 infections a day in the US.
“Arguably, the situation in many parts of the world today is worse than it was back in March.
“We need to do this properly … but as soon as we can safely have that system set up and have those flights returning, we will, and I am very confident we will be able to have that well before Christmas.’’
The inquiry has asked for more information from the DHHS, prompted by a whistleblower revealing it had withheld some information, including an email trail involving Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton that discussed private security as far back as March 27.
The inquiry said in a statement: “This unfortunate delay is due to the provision of additional material … after the conclusion of closing submissions on 28 September 2020, as detailed at the extraordinary sitting on 20 October.”
OPPOSITION DEMANDS INQUIRY CALLS MORE WITNESSES
The state opposition has demanded the Hotel Quarantine Inquiry call further witnesses after it was given a six week deadline to deliver its final report.
Shadow Attorney-General Ed O’Donohue on Friday wrote to chair Jennifer Coate demanding the board recall witnesses including the Premier and former health minister Jenny Mikakos.
Mr O’Donohue said new witnesses including Daniel Andrews’ chief of staff Lissie Ratcliff and United Security boss David Millward must also be hauled before the inquiry.
“I don’t need to remind you of the intense public interest by millions of suffering Victorians in the inquiry’s quest to find the truth and the growing commuity scepticism about the work of the inquiry,” he wrote.
“I implore you to use the extensive powers at your disposal and the additional time you now have to report, to vigorously and relentlessly pursue the central questions still outstanding that must be answered.”
Mr O’Donohue has called for both Mr Eccles and Mr Ashton to be recalled as well as chief health officer Brett Sutton and Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp who famously changed his evidence of an earlier parliamentary inquiry to match that given to the hotel quarantine inquiry.
“These key witnesses...have left so many unanswered questions,” Mr O’Donohue said.
The inquiry has not ruled out calling further witnesses if necessary.
But Ms Coate said she first had to assess all the extra material tendered to the inquiry.
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