Premier Daniel Andrews flags end to Victoria’s pandemic declaration

Daniel Andrews says he’s hopeful Victoria’s pandemic order will not need to be extended again after it expires in July.

Daniel Andrews says Victoria’s pandemic declaration could finally end in July.

The Premier said on Thursday he was hopeful there would be no need to extend the declaration for another three months when it expires on July 12.

If it were extended, it would continue into the state election campaign and be used by the state opposition who have fiercely campaigned against it.

Mr Andrews made Victoria’s first formal pandemic declaration, under new pandemic management laws, in December.

It replaced the State of Emergency which was first declared on March 16, 2020.

Mr Andrews said while he hoped there would be no further extension to the pandemic declaration, it would depend on independent advice.

“I don’t know what independent expert advice I’m going to get in the days leading up to the 12th of July,” he said.

“It’s my hope. It’s my hope that we don’t need that. Or we need something less than that or we need some other arrangement.

“I made it really clear to every Victorian, if you got vaccinated, then we would have more options.

“It’s a credit to every single Victorian … we are one of the most-vaccinated communities in the world and it’s why we’re open.”

Premier Daniel Andrews made Victoria’s first formal pandemic declaration, under new pandemic management laws, in December. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

It comes as Mr Andrews flagged record investment in health funding in next month’s budget.

The Premier confirmed reports, revealed in the Herald Sun, that millions of dollars would be pumped into the crisis-addled triple-0 operator.

The Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority has come under fire over a series of deaths linked to call delays.

A report into the service has been prepared by former police chief commissioner Graham Ashton.

But the government has so far refused to make it public, more than two weeks after it was delivered.

Mr Andrews said he was yet to see the report.

“The budget will be delivered in a couple of weeks and I will predict to you that it will be a very big budget for health,” Mr Andrews said.

“It will be a very big budget for those basic services that make a massive difference to people’s lives.

“ESTA, emergency services, ambulance, that will all be part of that.

“You’ll see investments, short, medium and long term investments in the budget that are about supporting our nurses, our ambos our call takers to do more, to do better, and to provide the best care that we could possibly provide.”