Texts from former top cop Graham Ashton show order to use private security for hotel quarantine came from Daniel Andrews’ team
Texts from ex top cop Graham Ashton show Daniel Andrews’ department ordered the use of private security for the hotel quarantine program. Australian Border Force also faces claims it gave incorrect data on where people were self-isolating.
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The Australian Border Force gave inaccurate data to police about where people who were meant to be self-isolating were staying, former chief commissioner of police Graham Ashton has revealed.
And police were held up for several days navigating privacy concerns with the Department of Health and Human Services, who held more accurate data.
Once the correct addresses were obtained from the DHHS, police discovered there had in fact been a high level of compliance from people staying home when they were ordered to self-isolate.
“Most people were doing the right thing,’’ Mr Ashton said.
On July 31, Premier Daniel Andrews gave a press conference where he stated that more than 130 people doorknocked by the Australian Defence Force were not home.
“That is one in four people who were found not to be at home,” he said, in comments that made headlines across Australia.
“This is absolutely unacceptable. All that will do is spread the virus. If you have tested positive, the only place to be is at home.”
Mr Ashton gave evidence to the hotel quarantine inquiry that police had been following up reports of people who were not complying with self-isolation orders.
“On many occasions people were isolating but they weren’t isolating at the place where the Australian Border Force thought they were going to be,’’ he said.
“And so we had to adjust records…try and clean the data a lot on where people actually were. But there were levels of noncompliance as well.’’
Mr Ashton told inquiry chair Jennifer Coate that initially, information had been received from the Australian Border Force on people who had arrived into the country and where their intended address would be.
“What we often found was this was the address on their passport, for example, and that was in the database of Border Force, and then when we actually went there, they had either sold, left long ago or their address had changed, and that was a regular occurrence.’’
Mr Ashton said police would then investigate to find out where the person was, which would sometimes take two or three days.
He said police then began to obtain their information from the DHHS.
“We had to overcome privacy restrictions to obtain the data from the Department of Health and Human Services, and that was a legal process we had to be able to step through, which took a number of days,’’ he said.
“Once we were able to do that, DHHS were lawfully able to provide us with that information.’’
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He said this gave more accurate data about where people were living.
“We still had people who were not complying. But most people were doing the right thing. And most people were complying.’’
In August, it was revealed the DHHS had provided details on 30,000 people ordered to self-isolate since April.
Only 42 people were fined for failing to comply.
BOMBSHELL TEXT MESSAGES IN HOTEL INQUIRY
Former police commissioner Graham Ashton has revealed in bombshell text messages private security would guard quarantine hotels as part of a “deal set up’’ by Daniel Andrews’ department.
Mr Ashton messaged Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw on March 27 — days before the quarantine program began — saying “private security will be used’’ and “I think that’s the deal set up by our DPC’’.
But in evidence to the hotel quarantine inquiry, he could not remember who had told him the Department of Premier and Cabinet had arranged such a deal.
“I don’t remember where I got that or who I got that from,” he said.
“I have reviewed the text messages and WhatsApp messages I received at around that time, and none include that information.’’
Mr Ashton said he had messaged DPC secretary Chris Eccles at 1.16pm, a few minutes before he messaged Mr Kershaw.
He wrote: “Chris I am getting word from Canberra for a plan whereby arrivals from overseas are to be subjected to enforced isolation from tomorrow. The suggestion is Victorian arrivals are conveyed to a hotel where they are guarded by police for 14 days. Are you aware of anything in this regard? Graham.’’
But he said he did not receive a text in reply, and said he could not recall if Mr Eccles, or anyone else, had phoned him with the information about private security that he then passed on to Commissioner Kershaw minutes later.
In extraordinary scenes, lawyers representing the DPC and the Department of Justice aggressively questioned Mr Ashton on whether the idea of using private security guards was what he wanted.
DPC lawyer Richard Attiwill put to Mr Ashton the use of private security was his “preferred option’’ and he had made notes on it “because you wanted to ensure that”.
“Your preference was that it was to be security companies or the security guards who were to be the first line of security,” Mr Attiwill said — a claim Mr Ashton denied.
Counsel assisting the inquiry, Rachel Ellyard, told the hearing Mr Eccles would give evidence next week that he couldn’t have been the source of the information that private security would be used.
Also yesterday, current Chief Commissioner Shane Patton gave evidence about an email written by Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent at 6.40am on March 28, which discussed a meeting of the Victorian Secretaries Board attended by Mr Ashton.
Mr Nugent said in the email the DPC had called him to confirm the use of private security was the “agreed position” discussed in the meeting.
However, Mr Patton said in a statement he had since spoken to Mr Nugent, who no longer recalled if it was indeed someone from the Premier’s department who had rung him.
“DC Nugent has recently informed me that he took this call while he was at home and that he is now not sure of the identity of the person who called him or whether that person was in fact from the DPC or another government department,’’ he said.
A police superintendent has also given a statement to the inquiry about the minutes she took of a critical State Control Centre meeting, in which Assistant Commissioner Mick Grainger said private security was “absolutely’’ the police preference.
She had also sent an email summing up the meeting which said: “CCP (chief commissioner of police) recommendation that private security is to be the first line of security.’’
But in a sworn statement on September 13, the superintendent said she had “no clear recollection’’ of why she had referenced Mr Ashton “recommending’’ private security.
The inquiry, which wraps up next week, is yet to determine exactly who made the decision to use private security in the botched quarantine program, and who decided not to use the Australian Defence Force.
Mr Andrews, Health Minister Jenny Mikakos, Jobs Minister Martin Pakula and Police Minister Lisa Neville will appear as witnesses at the inquiry next week.