A major contributor to the continuing high risks and systems breakdowns in the Victorian hotel quarantine system is the failure of WorkSafe Victoria to do the job it was designed to do.
This is one reason why the federal government could not risk a substantial increase in Covid-19 infections by allowing Australians to return from India — our second-largest state still does not have a proper working quarantine system.
Last year inexcusable quarantine management mistakes and shady deals contributed to the death of 801 people — the nation’s worst industrial accident. The systems failures meant that the only way to avoid a worse catastrophe was massive Victorian lockdowns.
Australians had hoped the administrators in the southern state had learned.
Now this week some brilliant reporting by The Australian’s Ewin Hannan and Damon Johnston has revealed that the Victorian quarantine system is still in chaos and the state’s low infection rates have been achieved more by good luck than proper measures.
Former Premier Steve Bracks set up some of the best occupational health and safety rules in the world, so that when there was a major disaster WorkSafe had the investigative powers to quickly determine those who had not done their job and what had gone wrong. And those powers enabled WorkSafe to act quickly to ensure the safety of the community.
By launching prosecutions quickly people would be removed from decision making, allowing the lessons to be implemented. When regulating the private sector WorkSafe does the job almost to the point of being overzealous. But Australia’s biggest industrial disaster involved the government sector and it has launched no prosecutions
Accordingly, much of blame for the continuing mismanagement lies fairly and squarely at the feet of WorkSafe Victoria which has simply not done its job and, as a result, the community is in danger.
As my readers know, to force WorkSafe to do its job Self-Employed Australia has used the provisions of the act to request prosecution of 16 people including current and former cabinet ministers and public servants.
In all 142 prosecutions have been requested. Under the Bracks legislative requirements by June 30 WorkSafe must either prosecute on each of the 142 grounds or explain why, on each of those 142 grounds, it is not prosecuting.
It is almost unforgivable that it requires an outside body to make WorkSafe do its job in the government sector.
Australians, including cricketers in our community, who want to peacefully protest may consider going down to Geelong to stand outside WorkSafe with a sign saying “do your job”.
Once that job is done the people who were involved in the mistakes will be removed and proper systems can be adopted.
I emphasise strongly that just because people are prosecuted does not mean that they are guilty. In Australia in non-tax matters we operate under the English justice system where a person is innocent until proven guilty. It’s possible that one reason for the lack of action against politicians, former politicians and government employees is that prosecutions are criminal matters that can cause anyone found guilty to be sentenced to up to five years jail. If industrial manslaughter can be embraced, the penalty is up to 25 years jail.
If WorkSafe does not launch major prosecutions, either on its own or in response to the demands from Self Employed Australia, then the Crown prosecutor Kerri Judd will be asked to do her job and launch the necessary prosecutions to curb the risk of another Victorian lockdown.
It is very encouraging for both Victoria and the nation that arguably our best known QC, Rowena Orr, has been appointed Victoria’s next Solicitor General. She takes up office later this month.
We all watched with fascination at the banking Royal Commission her cross examination of bankers and those in the finance industry. She is a person who understands the difference between right and wrong.
She will, therefore, understand that something is very wrong to have 801 people killed in 2020 and all the same mistakes still taking place in 2021. She will understand that the provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which are designed to stop this sort of repeat event, are not being invoked.
Orr may not have the decision-making power to initiate a prosecution but her sense of justice and community benefit will be a an important force in fixing the Victorian quarantine mess.
And there is some good news on the Victorian front.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says that the new quarantine facility planning work that Victoria undertook was of a high standard.
Victoria has actually two first-class places to operates quarantine: near Melbourne airport and near Avalon airport.
Once those involved in the crazy Victorian quarantine systems are removed, operating a proper system is not difficult because NSW and other states, plus the NT, have shown the way.
In addition, Victoria has a well-defined disaster plan which can be implemented with proper controls. And the shady deals that are part the current system will be eliminated.
Footnote: The frustration in various levels of the Victorian society is emerging in strange ways. WorkSafe’s failure to act has really hit manufacturing confidence and they are slashing maintenance, which will increase worker dangers. Some Victorians are contributing money to Self Employed Australia to fund radio advertising so that ordinary Victorians can understand the WorkSafe issues.
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