Brett Sutton concedes he failed to explain advice properly at times during the pandemic

Former chief health officer Brett Sutton has conceded that he failed to explain advice properly at times during the Covid crisis, and that sometimes evidence was based on “a best guess”.

Former chief health officer Brett Sutton has conceded that he failed to explain advice properly at times during the pandemic, and that sometimes evidence was based on “a best guess”.

Asked whether he failed to give clear explanations sometimes, Mr Sutton said “of course I did”.

“I think, you know, with the best of intentions, wanted to be able to speak to all of that nuance and complexity,” he told ABC radio on Wednesday.

“But not all of it was given an opportunity. Not all of it was captured in a way that I … would have liked.”

Pressed on whether he relayed evidence that may not have been correct, Mr Sutton said “evidence changes all the time, and I think sometimes it just wasn’t there”.

“So of course, sometimes you’re making a best guess, and sometimes you’re applying the precautionary principle, which means that you’re being careful in the absence of really, really clear evidence to point you one way or another.”

Former chief health officer Brett Sutton has conceded that he failed to explain advice properly at times during the pandemic. Picture: David Crosling

Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said saving lives and livelihoods was the focus of the state government during Covid.

But Ms Thomas refused to reflect on the findings of the Covid inquiry in detail.

“Until such time as I’ve had the opportunity to examine the report’s recommendations and findings, I’m not going to add further comment,” she said.

“We’ll take actions necessary.”

Ms Thomas said the Victorian government relied on the advice of health experts to inform its pandemic response.

“The actions that we took during that time saved lives and they saved businesses. We kept people employed,” she said.

Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas refused to reflect on the findings of the Covid inquiry in detail. Picture: Diego Fedele

Asked if the measures were made because the state government had no faith in the health system’s ability to deal with increased demand, Ms Thomas said: “We were dealing with an unprecedented health crisis.”

“We all recall the terrible scenes we saw on television. In Italy, in the US we saw graves being dug filled with bodies. We worked with the information and the advice that we received from our public health experts,” she added.

“At that time we had no protections. There was no vaccine.”

Ms Thomas said she welcomed the Commonwealth’s commitment for an independent centre for disease control.