Tim Quilty: Excessive state of emergency powers have destroyed our rights

It’s alarming how easily democracy and human rights in Victoria have been thrown away under the government’s state of emergency.

Police checking that Melburnians are following travel restrictions during lockdown. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Crosling

If you live in one of the many country towns that does not have an active case of coronavirus and has never had a case, it is as plain as the mask on your face that we are governed by idiots.

Lockdowns are a massive pain in the backside for border communities. Many of us have already wasted days of our lives stuck at the border because some bureaucrat in a distant city doesn’t understand risk.

Schools in NSW have turned away teachers and students who live only a few kilometres away. People who work in tourism or hospitality face uncertain futures. Graziers with animals on each side of the line are worried about keeping them fed when borders close.

And while the livelihoods of so many people are threatened, the quarantine hotels and aged-care facilities in Melbourne seem to be managed by people whose middle name is Danger.

It’s almost as if public health officials have realised mismanaging the pandemic has benefits.

Victoria has been under a state of emergency since March last year. That’s a long time for an emergency. Governments face challenges of all kinds over time which they manage without calling them emergencies.

But what is most alarming is how easily democracy and human rights in this state have been thrown away.

Masks are still mandatory in regional areas like Geelong. Picture: Alan Barber

The state of emergency means democratic decision making is effectively suspended. With the help of a compliant government, a bureaucrat can create chaos for millions of people any day they wake up feeling annoyed about the weekend’s footy results.

The powers of the government under this state of emergency are extraordinarily authoritarian.

Tens of thousands of Victorians found to have breached stay-at-home orders last year were fined $1652 — a burden on those forced out of work by the pandemic.

Despite all the evidence that police don’t beat pandemics and being outside does not transmit the virus, the government has announced this fine will increase to more than $1800 after July 1.

And if you think you can lock yourself away from the long arm of the law, think again. Even protective services officers have the power to enter your home without a search warrant.

Last year the government proved they cannot be trusted with these excessive powers.

A pregnant woman was arrested in front of her children in her own home; women without masks were assaulted in the streets; and drones swarmed above our houses to detect people going for a walk.

Public housing residents were denied fresh air and exercise. Even after the Victorian Ombudsman complained about this in a public report, the government combined with a few other crossbenchers to deny this right to other Victorians in this and future lockdowns.

So now we have fewer rights than prisoners.

And if you want to complain, it’s up to citizens to sue the government and prove wrongdoing. Most people cannot afford to take on the state in court.

In addition, the government keeps the decision-making process secret. The Attorney-General made the astonishing admission in parliament to my colleague David Limbrick that she does not even read the human rights assessments attached to public health orders. These unread assessments are then kept secret so virtually nobody reads them.

And the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission won’t help you either. They appear only to exist as a kind of rubber stamp for the government’s human rights abuses.

Meanwhile, the government and the bureaucrats who have stuffed up repeatedly have paid no price.

The state of emergency declarations do not have enough checks in place, so unlawful overreach takes place with impunity. The Victorian government is all power and no responsibility.

Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

That’s why I am introducing a Bill to the upper house that aims to reintroduce democratic decision making to Victoria and hold decision makers accountable.

The Bill requires that in cases when it can, the state must use normal democratic decision-making processes during a state of emergency.

It is designed so we can deal effectively with the pandemic without suspending democracy. It means your elected MPs would be asked to make decisions on behalf of people who elected them.

The chief health officer would no longer be used by the Premier as some kind of official scapegoat. If checkout staff can work during a pandemic, then so can MPs.

It’s only by holding decision makers accountable that we can curb the excesses of lockdown. With this in mind, my Bill would make it possible for the Premier, or any ministers or bureaucrats who knowingly issue unlawful orders under the emergency powers, to be imprisoned for up to five years.

There is a saying that when people fear the government there is tyranny, but when government fears the people there is freedom. This Bill will restore the balance.

This government’s lack of planning should never be our state of emergency.

— Tim Quilty is the Liberal Democrats MP for Northern Victoria