Victorian Government’s state of emergency bill looks set to fail in upper house
An extension to Victoria’s state of emergency looks set to fail, as negotiations stall with key cross benchers.
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A proposed extension to Victoria’s state of emergency looks set to fail in the state’s upper house, however Daniel Andrews will meet with at least one key upper house crossbencher this afternoon to discuss potential changes.
Reason Party leader MP Fiona Patten announced on Wednesday she would vote against the bill, and urged the government to bring forward legislation specific to the pandemic.
“When the government sought a 12-month extension in September last year I rejected it,” said Ms Patten.
“I negotiated a six-month extension, as well as other transparency measures such as the monthly tabling of documents that sit behind the justification for the continuing state of emergency. This was based on the fact the government would bring forward specific legislation to deal with the ongoing pandemic. They have not.”
“This pandemic isn’t going anywhere fast, we are going to be dealing with this well into next year,” said Ms Patten.
“We need laws that allow the government to continue to protect public health but that lets us live in a state of ‘COVID-normal’ – not a state of emergency.”
However, Ms Patten has a meeting with the Premier late Wednesday where potential changes will be discussed.
It’s understood Animal Justice’s Andy Meddick has also put forward some talking points to the government.
Under current Victorian legislation the state of emergency cannot exceed March 16.
The state of emergency gives Victoria’s chief health officer the powers to do what is necessary to contain the spread of COVID-19.
This includes running a hotel quarantine program and issuing orders for community lockdowns and mask wearing.
The government was forced to rush through legislation last year increasing the maximum total period for a state of emergency from six months to 12 months, which was rejected by the cross bench.
Eventually crossbenchers including Animal Justice’s Andy Meddick, Greens’ Samantha Ratnam and Reason’s Fiona Patten agreed to support the bill with a six-month extension.
The move was met with backlash from the community.
Earlier this year, Mr Andrews announced new legislation would be introduced to again extend the order, but the unexpected move was not welcomed by the members in the upper house.
The bill will be debated in the upper house later this week as the current SOE deadline looms.
The government needs three votes from the crossbench in the Legislative Council – which will be tough with eight crossbenchers ruling out support.
The Victorian Coalition is seeking to amend the bill so the SOE can be extended month by month, which will be decided by parliament not government “to put Andrews on a short leash”.
The change will also require the government to make public health advice, which is currently kept confident and only shared with cabinet.
Coalition Leader of the Upper House David Davis said if the amendments were not accepted they would not support the bill.
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