Victoria Police probe ‘roadmap to recovery’ leak
Detectives have launched an investigation over allegations a public servant leaked top-secret documents revealing the Andrews Government’s road to recovery.
HS Coronavirus News
Don't miss out on the headlines from HS Coronavirus News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Victoria’s embattled Department of Health and Human Services is under fire for calling in police to investigate a public servant over the leaking of documents that revealed Victoria’s lockdown would be extended.
E-crime squad detectives launched an investigation — dubbed a “witch hunt” — over allegations of unauthorised access of information by the employee.
The DHHS referred the matter to police, after an internal investigation to find the source of the leak.
The Herald Sun published a top-secret leaked road map outlining the government’s draft plans to ease restrictions on September 3 — days ahead of Daniel Andrews announcing the official version.
At the time, the Premier dismissed the document as having “no status”, despite the final road map proving almost identical to the draft.
But on Thursday Mr Andrews said of the leak: “Cabinet in confidence documents, under law, are very important documents that need to be appropriately protected.”
He refused to comment on whether he thought police should investigate the case.
It is understood senior departmental officials interrogated employees in a series of tense meetings as part of the internal investigation.
Experts said on Thursday any legal claim over the documents would be limited to a breach of confidence action.
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Ed O’Donohue said the government should focus on “saving small business”, rather than a “witch hunt”. “The increasingly desperate, dysfunctional and secretive Andrews Labor government will do anything it can to stop Victorians from knowing the truth,” he said.
Small Business Australia executive director Bill Lang said: “The only leaks that the Victorian government should concern themselves with are the leaks that they seem expert at forgetting about — the leaking procurement process and the virus leaked from hotel quarantine.
“One of the major complaints from Victoria’s over 600,000 small-business owners about the Victorian government’s response to the pandemic has been around communication. The leaked road map was a case in point.
“When the road map was leaked, the government spent days describing it as a ‘draft’ and ‘inaccurate’, creating more uncertainty for business, only for it to have been essentially accurate.”
Whistleblowers Australia vice-president Brian Martin said governments were increasingly trying to silence media and their sources.
“The identification of leakers is a serious matter and prosecution even more serious,” he said. “The effect … is to strike fear into the hearts of others who might leak.”