Melbourne tower residents ‘not prisoners’ says Bill Shorten

Former Labor leader Bill Shorten has criticised Victoria Premier Dan Andrews’ decision to lockdown thousands of public housing tenants.

Bill Shorten has criticised Victorian Premier Dan Andrews’ decision to plunge public housing tenants into lockdown without warning declaring “they are not prisoners.”

The former Labor leader, who has been visiting one of the towers in his electorate to deliver Halal meat with a local butcher, has slammed claims the residents are “living the life of Riley’’ in the high rise blocks.

“These are not prisoners. They haven’t broken any laws. So I think that we need to make sure that if they have got a phone line to ring it gets answered in a timely fashion,’’ he said.

“The State Government announced immediately a stage 4 lockdown. It means these residents are just not allowed to leave their apartment.

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“It came as quite a shock to these residents. They got no notice and they feel like they have been treated to a lesser standard than other people. We are where we are.”

For years the Victorian Premier earned the title ‘Teflon Dan’ for his ability to emerge unscathed from government scandals.

Bill Shorten delivers food to the Flemington Towers Government Housing complex on Monday. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

But the botched COVID-19 hotel quarantine that allowed the killer virus to escape into Melbourne has shaken Labor MPs’ confidence in the Victorian leader.

Mr Shorten told the Today show that what was happening in the towers wasn’t good enough.

“My assessment is that we and the State Government needs to do a better job communicating with people there. We need to be a bit more switched on,’’ he said.

“And that if they need to know who can actually assist them with their needs. There are 60 people there with NDIS packages, that means kids with autism and elderly people. There are people there whose language is not so good.

“There is a tremendous danger as we know, that this virus may spread like wildfire inside the towers. How do the people in the towers have any faith for the authorities to get it right?”

One of the public housing towers - the 22 storey Flemington towers - are in Mr Shorten’s federal electorate.

“There are nine apartments a level. They have two lifts and sometimes one of the lifts may not be working. So you have to walk up and down 22 sets of external concrete stair ways, it is very windy,’’ he said.

The Collingwood tower is in Bill Shorten’s electorate. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

“The apartments themselves, they are not big. I saw a guest whose name I won’t mention carrying on like they have the life of Riley. No they don’t. They have two or three-bedroom apartments. If they have four or five kids and little boys and girls in one room and the baby may sleep with the parents in the third. The floors are carpet and lino, there is a small bathroom.

“People who live in these towers are not something different or special. They are battlers, they are trying to go to work. There are nurses and teachers there. There’s a whole lot of people trying to make ends meet. It is a difficult situation. We just need to treat these people as decently as we can.”

Mr Shorten damned the Victorian Labor government with faint praise saying that “on balance” Mr Andrews had done a good job.

“There have been mistakes made where some of the quarantine travellers from overseas were monitored and kept lockdowned,’’ he said.

“So I think there will be heads to roll over that. I just want to say back to these public housing tenants. I heard some people will be up in arms saying that they are being treated terribly and I can see that perspective. Other people saying “They are migrants it is all their fault” we were bagging Asians and poor people and might bag different migrant groups.

“These people being locked up, imagine it in your living room and told you can’t leave your house and can’t pick your shopping up. What these people are doing is taking one for the team.”

Mr Shorten revealed that his own family home, including his wife Choe and three children remained in lockdown but he could leave for work reasons as he had to visit the Flemington towers.

“As for holidays, my own suburb is lockdowned for the last week. Can we stop bagging all Victorians please,’’ he said.