Health Minister in the dark on guards

Victoria’s Health Minister says she had no idea private guards were being used in Melbourne’s hotel quarantine program for two months.

Health Minister Jenny Mikakos has revealed she was unaware private security was being used in Melbourne’s hotel quarantine program until two months after the program began.

Ms Mikakos today told counsel assisting the hotel inquiry, Ben Ihle, she only learnt private security was used in the scheme after the outbreak at the Rydges on Swanston Hotel in late May.

“That’s to the best of my recollection, Mr Ihle, because I would have had no reason to turn my mind to issues around security guards until we had that first case and the first outbreak at Rydges Hotel,” she told the inquiry on Wednesday.

Ms Mikakos said she was not consulted about the structure or operation plan of the program, which began on March 29.

She also joined ministers Martin Pakula and Lisa Neville in saying she did not know whose idea it was to use private security to guard returned travellers.

Ms Mikakos said her department’s role was to facilitate legal frameworks and provide health and wellbeing services for returned travellers as part of the hotel quarantine program.

The inquiry has heard the Department of Jobs, Regions and Precincts had a supporting logistics role and contracted hotels, security and cleaning companies.

Mr Ihle asked Ms Mikakos: “Through that period of almost two months, since the establishment of the hotel quarantine program, the fact private security guards had been engaged as the first line of compliance did not come to your attention in any form?”

“That is correct, because as you know, Mr Ihle, it was in fact DJPR that was the department that had all the contracts with security contractors.

“I can’t imagine why it would be brought to my attention because … DJPR held the contracts with the security companies if there were any issues, they certainly weren’t brought to my attention.

“I imagine they would have been brought to DJPR to resolve.”

Ms Mikakos said in hindsight, the decision to engage private security is not something she would support.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT SOUGHT POLICE, ARMY TO REPLACE GUARDS

Health Minister Jenny Mikakos told the inquiry that after outbreaks from the Stamford Hotel, she believed the security guard workforce needed to be replaced.

“I was, you could say, exasperated and absolutely determined to replace the security guards,” she said.

She got her department to report on possible alternatives in late June that included police and 50 to 100 army personnel.

She said she wasn’t aware of specific offers of support for the ADF, other than for tasks they were already doing, such as contact tracing and helping at testing sites.

Ms Mikakos said she was unaware of any ADF offer of help until she read it in a media report on June 25.

“I was not involved in any requests for the ADF providing that alternative workforce for the Hotel Quarantine Program,” she said.

Ms Mikakos said she wouldn’t have expected to make that formal request for ADF support, as it’s typically made by the Emergency Management Commissioner or Chief Commissioner.

She said she didn’t know what request was made by her department to Mr Crisp after she requested alternative workforce options.

“As I understand it, Commissioner Andrew Crisp did make some requests at that point in time. I can‘t comment on the specifics of why, but it occurred at that time, but it wasn’t a request that was made with my direct involvement.”

“I‘m not sure exactly what request was made by my department to Commissioner Crisp.”

The inquiry has heard Mr Crisp requested 850 army personnel to be used for the hotel quarantine program in late June, as an alternative to private security firms.

However he rescinded his request the next morning, after the justice department said other options, such as police and protective services officers, were being considered.

Corrections officers were eventually installed to take over guarding hotel quarantine.

‘NO SILVER BULLET’

Ms Mikakos said there was no “silver bullet” workforce to respond to the risks posed by COVID-19.

The Health Minister said the highly contagious virus had challenged many workforces, even those experienced in infection control.

“I am aware of healthcare workers in hospitals with years of experience in infection protection control, and wearing higher levels of PPE, nevertheless becoming infected, as have clinicians from the Australian Defence Force working attesting sites wearing PPE, as have members of Victoria Police wearing PPE,” she said in her statement.

“In my view, there is no “silver bullet” workforce to respond to the risk of a highly-contagious virus, but there is an unacceptable risk in using a largely unskilled and casualised workforce, as we have seen recently also in the private aged care sector.”

Ms Mikakos said she would not support using private security contractors in any future version of the hotel quarantine program.

Rydges on Swanston hotel receives a delivery of PPE. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

MINISTER ‘PROFOUNDLY SADDENED’ BY OUTBREAKS

Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said she was “profoundly saddened” the hotel quarantine program sparked a second wave of cases.

Ms Mikakos told the inquiry using the security workforce to guard hotel quarantine hotels was “too high risk in nature”.

“Those were risks that actually materialised in this case didn’t they?” Mr Ihle asked, referring to the program resulting in 18,374 positive cases and 752 deaths.

“Yes they did,” Ms Mikakos said.

“These particular outbreaks have sadly sparked a second wave of cases in our state, something I’m profoundly saddened about.

“Tragically we had many more deaths during the second wave, yes.

“I was working to ensure we could mitigate the risks as quickly as possible in the month of June and I was working with my department to ensure we could replace the security guards that I saw as adding an unacceptable risk factor to how this program was being run.”

Ms Mikakos said she concluded the collaborative approach between hers and the Department of Jobs, Regions and Precincts, wasn’t working, given the risks of using private security, who were contracted by DJRP.

Rydges on Swanston hotel in Melbourne. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

‘TOO MANY COOKS’ LOOKING AFTER HOTEL QUARANTINE

Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said she was not consulted about the structure or operation plan of the hotel quarantine program.

Ms Mikakos said the program, Operation Soteria, had shared accountability between government departments but later believed there were “too many cooks spoiling the broth”.

“I understood the hotel quarantine program to be a multi-agency response with shared accountability,” Ms Mikakos said in her witness statement to the inquiry today.

“The fact that the DHHS is designated as the control agency for the pandemic response as a whole did not mean DHHS was running operation Soteria.”

Ms Mikakos said she was not consulted about the structure or operation plan of the hotel quarantine program or lines of accountability.

“With the benefit of hindsight it would have been desirable if I had been,” she told counsel assisting Ben Ihle.

Ms Mikakos said after the hotel quarantine program was announced by Premier Daniel Andrews, she understood it to be co-ordinated out of the State Control centre, “with all relevant agencies working together on this multi-agency response”.

Ms Mikakos said her department’s role was to facilitate legal frameworks and provide health and wellbeing services for returned travellers.

The inquiry has heard the Department of Jobs, Regions and Precincts had a supporting logistics role and contracted hotels, security and cleaning companies.

Ms Mikakos said after outbreaks at the Stamford Hotel in mid June, she believed one department would have been better to handle the program and that lack of her department’s involvement in contract arrangements was a “significant weakness” in the program.

“I formed the view that the multi-agency response to the HQP meant there were “too many cooks spoiling the broth”, and I worked to have all aspects of the program moved to one department, being the DJCS.

“It was apparent to me that the DHHS lacked any contractual levers with either the hotels or security contractors and that this was a significant weakness in how the program had been structured.”

Health Minister Jenny Mikakos gives evidence to the inquiry on Thursday.

Jobs Minister Martin Pakula yesterday told the inquiry his department was lead agency for the program until the Department of Health and Human Services took over a couple of days later, but it retained a supporting role in logistics.

He insisted the DHHS was clearly in charge with overall responsibility, a claim at odds with evidence by Ms Mikakos’s department secretary Kym Peake yesterday, who said both departments had a “shared accountability”.

Ms Mikakos is the third Minister to give evidence in the inquiry, with Premier Daniel Andrews due to be examined at 2.15pm on Friday.

Both Mr Pakula and Police Minister Lisa Neville told the inquiry yesterday they did not know who made the decision to use private guards as the first line of security guarding returned travellers in hotel quarantine.

HEALTH MINISTER DID NOT KNOW OF PRIVATE GUARDS FOR TWO MONTHS

Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said she was unaware private security was being used in the hotel quarantine scheme until two months after the program started.

She told counsel assisting, Ben Ihle, she only learnt private security was used after the outbreak at the Rydges on Swanston Hotel in late May.

“That’s to the best of my recollection, Mr Ihle, because I would have had no reason to turn my mind to issues around security guards until we had that first case and the first outbreak at Rydges Hotel.”

Mr Ihle asked: “Through that period of almost two months, since the establishment of the hotel quarantine program, the fact private security guards had been engaged as the first line of compliance did not come to your attention in any form?”

“That is correct, because as you know, Mr Ihle, it was in fact DJPR that was the department that had all the contracts with security contractors.”

NO IDEA WHO DECIDED ON PRIVATE SECURITY

Ms Mikakos said she was not involved in engaging private security to work at quarantine hotels.

“I do not know what made that decision,” she said.

Government ministers Martin Pakula and Lisa Neville told the inquiry yesterday they also didn’t know whose idea it was.

The inquiry has heard of failures by guards to take adequate infection control measures, before the virus spread from quarantined hotels into the community, causing Victoria’s second wave.

Besides her role as Health Minister, Ms Mikakos was also the Minister for co-ordination of Health and Human Services for COVID-19 and on the crisis council of cabinet. Despite this, she said the fact private guards were being used never came to her attention.

“I can’t imagine why it would be brought to my attention because … DJPR held the contracts with the security companies if there were any issues, they certainly weren’t brought to my attention.

“I imagine they would have been brought to DJPR to resolve.”

Ms Mikakos said in hindsight, the decision to engage private security is not something she’d support.