The 3-minute guide to hotel inquiry chair Jennifer Coate’s findings

The findings are in on Victoria’s botched hotel quarantine program and these are the key take-outs.

Hotel inquiry chair Jennifer Coate has delivered her findings on Victoria’s botched program. Here’s what she found.

WHO MADE THE DECISION TO USE PRIVATE SECURITY GUARDS?

After 27 days of hearings, 96 witnesses and $195m we still don’t know but inquiry chair Jennifer Coate pointed the finger at two people for having “influence” over the decision.

She found an early preference by Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton not to be the frontline of enforcement at the hotels “set in motion” the actions to contract private security. Ms Coate said the decision was ultimately made with no real analysis of the merits of it and no proper consideration of if it was the best way of doing things.

She also said Premier Daniel Andrews’ right-hand man Chris Eccles was “the one to mention private security as (at least) an option”.

The second wave of coronavirus that escaped from hotel quarantine accounted for 99 per cent of cases. Picture: Getty Images

WHAT ABOUT THE ADF’S OFFER OF SUPPORT?

In short they were never really considered as an option. Ms Coate found once the mention of private security guards “grew into a settled position” no one considered a need to get help from the ADF so it was knocked back. She said there should have been but wasn’t a discussion around the pros and cons of using the ADF vs private security guards. And at least one offer of help was not passed on like it should have been.

Australian Defence Force personnel arriving in Melbourne to help out with the new hotel quarantine program.

WHAT WAS VICTORIA POLICE’S ROLE IN ALL THIS?

Without knowing what the consequences would be in the end Victoria Police pushed the first domino over.

Ms Coate found police had expressed a preference for security to be used on the frontline and them as a backup for anyone not complying with quarantine orders.

This led to what was described in the hearing as a creeping assumption that private security would be used.

Ms Coate found former Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton had clearly expressed a view and once private security was decided upon did not argue against it. She said his recollection that he had not made such a ‘recommendation’ was not as reliable as a chain of text messages that showed otherwise.

Ms Coate did note however that neither Mr Ashton had any public health experience to fall back on.

Former Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton giving evidence to the inquiry.

SO WHO WAS ACTUALLY IN CHARGE?

Nobody knew who was in charge and that was the problem. In its early days the hotel quarantine program began out of the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR) even though it was a public health initiative. It then sat within the state’s emergency management framework and the Department of Health (DHHS) became the “control agency”. But DHHS thought they had a “shared accountability” with DJPR and each side was left responsible for different things. Ms Coate said governance structures were unclear and complex and led to a “Gordian knot” that they were never able to escape from.

The other problem was all these decisions were being made without the actual ministers in charge being properly involved in them.

WHAT DID THEY SAY ABOUT PREMIER DANIEL ANDREWS?

The worst that could be said about the Premier is that he oversaw a government where key ministers, including himself, were not being properly briefed or involved in the decision making process. Ms Coate finds that this lack of input from minsters is against the way the system should operate. She also points out it was Mr Andrews’ key right-hand man, Chris Eccles, who failed to pass information onto his boss and was ultimately one of only two people who had influence on the decision to use private security guards.

Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Geraghty

WHAT ABOUT THEN HEALTH MINISTER JENNY MIKAKOS?

Ms Mikakos was forced to give further evidence to the inquiry after footage emerged of her at a press conference where the use of private security was mentioned. She had told the inquiry, and later maintained, she was not aware that decision had been made. Ms Coate accepted her evidence on this. The inquiry chair did however find that ministers were not adequately involved in making decisions about the hotel quarantine program when that should have been part of their job.

Then Health Minister Jenny Mikakos appearing before the hotel quarantine inquiry.

AND BRETT SUTTON?

Professor Sutton found himself in hot water after telling the inquiry he had no knowledge private security guards were going to be used and then an email chain was uncovered which showed it had been mentioned to him. But Ms Coate accepted Prof Sutton’s evidence that the email did not ‘register’ with him and he had no knowledge, oversight or involvement in the decision to use private security. Ms Coate also found he should have been made more involved in the process as State Controller - Health. A position he was at one stage given, but not told about.

Chief health officer Brett Sutton was backed by inquiry chair Jennifer Coate. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Geraghty

WHAT WENT WRONG?

The fact no one had ever perceived or planned for a public health challenge such as coronavirus led to rushed decision making. The hotel quarantine program was set up within 36 hours despite it being a high risk exercise. Missteps along the way, including the fact there was no proper interrogation of the decision to use private guards, the companies chosen to perform the work, the training of guards, inadequate cleaning and the problems with who was in charge combined to act against us.

WHAT NOW?

Ms Coate has made 81 recommendations for the future including how hotel quarantine should work now. A large number have already been implemented by the state government, however they continue to baulk at her proposal to allow people to quarantine in their own homes.

The new hotel quarantine program is being manned by police and ADF staff.

WHAT DID PREMIER DANIEL ANDREWS SAY IN RESPONSE?

That he was sorry, that he believed the issue was mainly one of oversight failure and that he had an “intention’’ to implement all 81 recommendations (despite already ignoring home quarantine, citing National Cabinet concerns).

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Sixteen families who lost a loved one in the deadly second wave have launched a class action against the Andrews Government, and are campaigning for a royal commission.