Coronavirus Victoria: Acting Premier James Merlino denies Brett Sutton’s absence intentional

Victoria’s favourite professor has been noticeably absent recently, but the state’s acting premier denies he’s been sidelined deliberately.

Victoria’s Acting Premier James Merlino has batted away questions about the whereabouts of the state’s chief health officer Brett Sutton after he had been publicly absent in recent days.

Professor Sutton became a cult figure during the peak of Victoria’s second wave of coronavirus last year, as thousands turned to the daily update on case numbers, lockdowns and public health advice.

When asked by reporters on Monday if Professor Sutton had been avoiding the public during major national vaccine discussions, Mr Merlino said he was “working tirelessly” behind the scenes.

“We’ve got a whole bunch of people working day and night on this issue, whether it’s professor Brett Sutton or professor Allen Cheng.

“We’ve got a whole team of experts within our public health system … within the CQV program … We’ve got a whole team of people working day and night.

Victorian Acting Premier James Merlino has shut down questions about Brett Sutton’s absence during critical vaccine discussions. Picture: Ian Currie/NCA NewsWire

“And sometimes that means for media events for an announcement, for discussions at national cabinet … it requires the expertise and the answering of questions in a public forum from the commissioner of CQV, the people in charge of contract tracing, or it requires a public health team.

Mr Sutton hasn’t fronted the media in recent times despite developments over the troubled Astra Zeneca rollout.

Mr Merlino also shut down questions Mr Sutton had been deliberately told to stay out of the limelight by government officials.

“No, I’m not aware of that all,” he said.

“It just depends on the issues of the day and the decisions that have been made at that time.”

Originally published as Coronavirus Victoria: Acting Premier James Merlino denies Brett Sutton’s absence intentional