Former Health Minister Jenny Mikakos takes aim at Daniel Andrews after hotel quarantine inquiry findings

Victoria’s former health minister has taken a swipe at Daniel Andrews after a long-awaited report into the state’s failed hotel quarantine was released.

Former health Minister Jenny Mikakos has taken a dramatic swipe at Daniel Andrews, calling his response to the state’s disastrous hotel quarantine program as “another masterclass in political deflection”.

Ms Mikakos who quit parliament after the Victorian Premier pinned blame onto her for the failings of the state’s first hotel quarantine program released a statement on Twitter on Monday afternoon.

It comes after Judge Jennifer Coates’ final inquiry findings found private security guards were the wrong choice to guard Victoria’s returned travellers in the hotel quarantine scheme.

But no person or agency took responsibility for the decision to use the guards, the inquiry found.

Speaking about the findings, Mr Andrews said he would expect his former health minister Jenny Mikakos and her departmental secretary Melissa Peake to resign if they were still in their roles today.

But Ms Mikakos hit back, saying “Victorians deserved to know the truth”.

“The Coate inquiry has failed to answer key questions. I believe Victorians deserve to know the truth about an event that has so profoundly impacted them,” she wrote.

“They do not need another masterclass in political deflection from the Premier.

“Further, I am disappointed the inquiry decided to redact some phone records including the Premier’s calls in their entirety and to subject these to a non-publication order.

“In the interests of transparency all telephone call records provided relating to 27 March 2020 should be publicly released.”

Dumped health Minister Jenny Mikakos quit parliament after the Premier pinned blame onto her for the failings of the state’s first hotel quarantine program. Picture: David Crosling/NCA NewsWire

She went on to say she offered her deepest condolences to the Victorians who passed away during the pandemic and said she was honoured to have served the state in her role as Health Minister.

My media statement is attached. pic.twitter.com/z5jwWUD6eD

— Jenny Mikakos #StaySafeSaveLives (@JennyMikakos) December 21, 2020

Asked on Monday why it was right for Ms Mikakos to resign as the minister accountable for the Department of Health and Human Services’ mistakes, but not right for him to resign as the Premier responsible for the whole government, Mr Andrews said Justice Coate’s report had confirmed he was correct to identify DHHS as the “control agency” for hotel quarantine.

“I answered fully, frankly, and honestly under oath, and the board has made findings that are 100 per cent consistent with the answers that I gave,” Mr Andrews said.

“Beyond that, as to the decisions that the Minister made at the time to leave the government, leave the cabinet, and the parliament that really is a matter for her and I don’t intend to be running a commentary on that.

“Once you’ve once you’ve made a decision that you can no longer serve, then the appropriate decision is to go, and that’s exactly what the Minister did.”