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MP-led inquiry to investigate contact tracing 'failures'
By Sumeyya Ilanbey and Paul Sakkal
A parliamentary inquiry chaired by Reason Party MP Fiona Patten will investigate Victoria's COVID-19 contact tracing system and how it performed during the deadly second wave.
Upper house MPs passed a motion on Wednesday afternoon to establish the inquiry, with a report due by December 14.
A parliamentary inquiry will examine Victoria's contact tracing system.Credit: Jason South
Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier, who moved the motion, said the second wave of COVID-19 cases occurred only because contact tracers were not able to stem the virus' spread once it seeped out of quarantine hotels.
Ms Crozier said the inquiry would examine the contact tracing system, which was not within the scope of Justice Jennifer Coate's examination of the hotel quarantine scheme.
"This is a really important inquiry," Ms Crozier said.
"Never before has Victoria had such a huge devastation … This parliamentary inquiry will get to the bottom of some of those failures that have occurred.
Opposition health spokeswoman and senior Liberal MP Georgie Crozier.Credit: Justin McManus
"We need to get it right and give Victorians the confidence that contact tracing is fixed."
Ms Patten said she wanted to ensure the state had the best system possible.
"It is my hope that this inquiry will give the public and business confidence that as we open up, we will stay open," she said.
The Coalition wanted an interim report by November 30, and for the parliamentary legal and social issues committee to provide further reports as necessary until December next year. But Labor successfully moved amendments to push the reporting date back.
Reason Party MP Fiona Patten will chair the inquiry. Credit: Joe Armao
Labor's upper house leader Jaclyn Symes said the government understood the importance of the investigation but was concerned about the tight reporting time frame requested by the opposition.
"This gives the department a bit more time to respond to the questions and attend the hearings appropriately while getting over the next few stages [as the state begins reopening]," she said.
Victoria's contact tracing system has come under fire for failing to contain the state's second wave, with the Commonwealth leading the charge against the Andrews government. The state has since moved away from its centralised contact tracing system to establish suburban and regional hubs, replaced its pen-and-paper systems with computers and begun contacting close contacts of confirmed coronavirus cases within 36 hours of initial testing.
Chief Scientist Alan Finkel last month led a delegation to NSW to review that state's contact tracing system, which the Commonwealth had dubbed the "gold standard".
Following that visit, Premier Daniel Andrews said Victoria's contact tracing system was as good, if not better, than NSW's, and added the Berejiklian government was adopting Victoria's IT system. The NSW Premier later denied those claims.
During question time in Parliament on Wednesday, Health Minister Martin Foley said the state's contact tracing system had withstood the "stress test of the real world".
"Testing, tracing and isolating connections and contacts is no simple task," he said.
"It's ... the hard work and skill of our 2600-strong public health response teams and their dedicated contact tracers working closely with families and communities that have driven this capacity to drive down those infection rates."
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton on Tuesday said the state's contact and outbreak management was the best in the country.
"I think this set-up we've got now could do things at scale if required," he said.
"But even more importantly, at the very low numbers, it is best-in-country to be able to respond not just in a timely way, but to do all of the things that are required; to be able to go from time of testing to time of completion of first interview in around 24 hours is extraordinary."
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said Victoria's contact tracing system was the best in the country. Credit: Joe Armao
Victorian authorities have rejected criticisms that the state's contact tracing system was not up to the task, saying the team had been bolstered over the past six months and pointing to the success containing recent outbreaks in Kilmore, Shepparton and Melbourne's north.
On Sunday, after Mr Andrews paused announcements on easing restrictions, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Health Minister Greg Hunt issued a scathing statement about the state's contact tracing system.
"Victoria’s public health systems are either up to the task of dealing with future outbreaks or they are not," it said.
"The decision to keep businesses closed suggests that there is still not sufficient confidence within the government that their systems can support reopening."
With Zach Hope