James Campbell: Curfew chaos is exactly what we can expect from Daniel Andrews
Both Brett Sutton and Shane Patton revealed Melbourne’s strict curfew was not their idea, and yet Daniel Andrews stays silent on whose call it actually was. Victorians deserve to know the truth on why they’re being locked inside, writes James Campbell.
James Campbell
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JUST when the curfew was threatening to join such recent unsolved mysteries as “why weren’t the police used in hotel quarantine?” and “who uninvited the ADF?”, the Premier has stepped in to clear things up.
The issue blew up earlier in the week when Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton conceded there was no medical reason for a curfew. This had been obvious from the outset, with the only rationale that made any sense was it made life easier for Victoria Police.
This was seized upon by CSL chair Brian McNamee in his interview with the Herald Sun in which he said if the Chief Commissioner of Police, Shane Patton, had imprisoned his fellow citizens not on medical advice, but for rostering convenience, he should resign.
This prompted Mr Patton to get on the radio to say “I was never consulted” and “We never asked for a curfew”.
This was somewhat confusing because a day earlier Premier Daniel Andrews said police had asked for the clearest, simplest set of rules they could have — including a curfew — on the grounds it would be much easier for them.
At the time this seemed the most plausible explanation.
As we know from hotel quarantine, in Victoria the police tell the government what they will or won’t do, not the other way round — a situation, one government figure joked on Thursday, has pertained since it was elected in 2014. But it turns out it’s even weirder than that. It’s long been clear the core mission of his government is to shovel our money to unionised public sector workers and to make sure their every whim is catered for. What hadn’t been apparent until now is after six years Mr Andrews has reached the point where he’s begun anticipating and meeting their demands before they can be formed into words.
As he explained on Thursday, the curfew – “that’s a decision I’ve made” and the government was “free to go beyond” the advice it was given. At least VicPol and the CHO get to offer him advice.
The most shocking thing in Dr McNamee’s interview was the revelation there’s been no communication between the government and Parkville-based CSL, one of the world’s leading biotech firms.
Dr McNamee can afford to speak out because he heads a global giant not beholden to the Victorian government and any retribution it may mete out. Countless others share his fears for Victoria and need to find the courage to speak out.