Victorian ministers slammed for seemingly flouting their own tough mask rules

Labor ministers have been labelled hypocrites after they were caught flouting their own tough mask rules — but the MPs say they have an excuse.

Government ministers have been slammed for seemingly flouting their own tough mask rules.

As Acting Premier James Merlino told Victorians masks would remain mandatory in all indoor and outdoor settings, a string of MPs were seen inside Parliament House without any face coverings.

Disability, Ageing and Carers Minister Luke Donnellan on Thursday night apologised to Victorians after he and a staffer were seen unmasked sitting next to each other in an office.

“The rules are there for a reason and I unreservedly apologise,” he said.

Another video appeared to show MPs sitting around a conference table also unmasked. A parliamentary staffer said they saw Agriculture Minister Mary-Anne Thomas at the table without a mask, and Workplace Safety Minister Ingrid Stitt unmasked in a Parliament House hallway.

A spokesman for Ms Thomas said food and drink was being consumed at the time. But a witness rejected the claims as false.

Luke Donnellan in his office not wearing a mask.

“These are the very ministers that are telling Melburnians that they must wear masks inside and out,” they said. “They are a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ kind of government. It makes my blood boil to think these very people are the ones making these rules and they chose to flout them.

“It’s a joke and if Victorians could see how these ministers acted behind closed doors, they’d be bloody furious.”

Despite the fact there is no evidence Covid has spread outdoors during Victoria’s latest outbreak, deputy chief health officer Allan Cheng said on Thursday the ongoing mask requirement was vital protection against Covid-19.

“Masks are obviously a very small thing to do and they are effective,” he said.

“We know there have been transmissions from relatively brief contact, people who don’t know each other who haven’t been in the same place.”

But Opposition Health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier slammed the “government hypocrisy”.

“When Labor ministers become complacent with the very rules they put in place, is it any wonder Victorians are losing faith and trust in this government?” she said.

“Melburnians have done the right thing and played by the rules, seeing Labor ministers flouting their own rules shows there is one rule for Labor and one rule for the rest of Victorians. A senior government source hit back at the Opposition attack saying Liberal MP Matthew Guy had also breached the rules.

They said a picture posted on social media showed Mr Guy and two others in his office without masks.

But a spokesman for Mr Guy said the claim was nonsense.