Victorian Government to pay $5 million to public housing residents over Melbourne lockdown

A community leader has slammed Daniel Andrews over a $5 million offer to residents locked in their homes for two weeks in 2020.

The Victorian government has offered to settle a $5 million class action brought by public housing residents in Melbourne who were locked in their homes during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The class action was filed by residents living in nine public housing towers located in North Melbourne and Flemington, following a sudden and devastating Covid-19 lockdown in July 2020.

Melbourne would become one of the world’s most locked-down cities throughout the pandemic, with over three months spent under the harshest restrictions seen in Australia.

The plaintiffs argued that they were unjustly detained and were not allowed to leave the towers for a staggering 14 days.

The Department of Health recently posted a notice of the settlement, which now awaits approval by the Supreme Court.

Despite the state government denying any wrongdoing, they have proposed to resolve the matter through a settlement without a trial.

It is proposed that the funds will be divided among the residents who chose to opt into the agreement, leaving approximately $1600 per resident.

But some residents say they don’t want money — instead they want an apology.

The lockdown was announced during a press conference on July 4, 2020, leaving many residents unaware of the order until police arrived outside.

Around 3000 residents were residing in the nine towers during the lockdown.

An investigation, led by Ombudsman Deborah Glass, found that the immediacy of the lockdown was not based on direct health advice and breached human rights.

“The rushed lockdown was not compatible with the residents‘ human rights, including their right to humane treatment when deprived of liberty,” Glass said.

“In my opinion, based on the evidence gathered by the investigation, the action appeared to be contrary to the law.”

Daniel Andrews continues to attract criticism for the Victorian Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic

The class action was filed by residents living in nine public housing towers located in North Melbourne and Flemington, following a sudden and devastating Covid-19 lockdown in July 2020.

The investigation further revealed that senior officials had agreed on the morning of July 4 that the towers should be locked down to control the coronavirus outbreak, with a start anticipated the following day to allow planning for food supplies and other logistics.

However, the lockdown was announced with immediate effect, leaving many residents shocked and scared.

While the settlement doesn’t include an apology from the government, it is a significant step towards justice and closure for the residents affected.

Resident and community leader Barry Berry said he couldn’t speak on behalf of every resident, but confirmed he wouldn’t be accepting the payment until the Andrews government issues a full apology.

He told ABC Radio Melbourne that cash wasn’t what the community was looking for after being subjected to prison-like conditions.

He said he has regular flashbacks of police flooding the area, describing the experience as “horrific”.

“Not really, no. We’re after an apology from the government,” he said.

“It’s not settled at the moment, I can’t go for it. It’s not that important (compared) to the apology.”

Police flooded the streets throughout the lockdown period.

The Department of Health recently posted a notice of the $5m settlement, which now awaits approval by the Supreme Court.

In 2022, details emerged of Victorian government officials holding focus groups to decide when and how to lift second wave lockdown restrictions in 2020.

Melbourne entered its second lockdown in early July 2020 amid rising Covid case numbers due to the virus leaking out from the government’s hotel quarantine program.

Stricter rules were put in place a month later and regional Victorians were also put under lockdown as cases peaked at more than 700 a day in early August.

Restrictions remained in place for a total of 112 days until late October when the city recorded no new virus infections.