Coate hotel inquiry closing in

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has much to be sorry about over the past seven months, especially the deaths of almost 800 people during the second wave of COVID-19. Almost all of that wave has been linked to the state’s failed quarantine scheme at the Rydges and Stamford Plaza hotels. But Mr Andrews’ repeated apologies and humiliating backdown over the fiasco surrounding the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley on Saturday should have been avoidable. Moonee Valley Racing Club’s proposal to allow 500 owners and connections of horses to attend Saturday’s 100th Cox Plate deserved the initial approval it received. As Mr Andrews said, it “went through a normal process, it was deemed safe … they would have been spread out’’.

Racing Victoria, the state Racing Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton and his team and Mr Andrews’ eight-member community crisis cabinet all signed off on the MVRC’s 300-page proposal. It was evidently safe and sensible.

Instead of withdrawing permission three hours after it was granted, Mr Andrews might have done better to address the root causes of the public anger the decision provoked. The real problem is that the severe restrictions still in place in Melbourne need to be relaxed. Measures that are now glaringly disproportionate to the state’s COVID caseload include the ongoing closure of retailers, pubs, restaurants and many workplaces. Limiting weddings to five people, including the couple; keeping funerals to 10; allowing indoor religious services only for filming, with five participants, and restricting outdoor services to six people, including a celebrant, is causing angst and anger at a time new daily infections have fallen to single digits. After a dismal winter, it is time to open up the economy as much as possible.

The Cox Plate controversy comes as the Andrews government falls deeper into disarray over the quarantine hotel inquiry. After revelations that he decided to withhold a critical email from the inquiry, Professor Sutton did not appear at the Premier’s press conference on Wednesday. The email appears to contradict Professor Sutton’s sworn evidence that he was not told about the use of private security guards until months after the scheme began. On March 27, he was copied in on an email from public servant Braedan Hogan to federal officials that said “private security is being contracted to provide security at the hotels with escalation arrangements to (Victoria Police) as needed”. Professor Sutton replied: “Thanks so much, Braedan”.

While problematic for Professor Sutton, the email trail does not suggest he was responsible for engaging the private security guards instead of using police and Australian Defence Force officers. The mystery of who was responsible is the key question at the heart of the inquiry headed by former judge Jennifer Coate. Mr Andrews confirmed on Wednesday that he has been asked by the inquiry to provide more information in an affidavit after the resignations of Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary Chris Eccles and health minister Jenny Mikakos. Mr Andrews told the inquiry he did not know who decided to hire private security guards to oversee returned travellers. Ms Mikakos, Jobs Minister Martin Pakula and Police Minister Lisa Neville also pleaded ignorance, as did Mr Eccles, Professor Sutton and Victoria Police chiefs. It may be advisable, as we have argued before, for witnesses to be recalled.

As Damon Johnston and Ewin Hannan write on Thursday, there is an emerging view in Melbourne legal circles that several inquiry witnesses may be in breach of the Victorian Inquiries Act 2014. The act lists as an offence making “false or misleading statements or produce false or misleading documents’’. Being found guilty carries big fines and jail terms. It would be up to retired judge Coate to refer any potential cases to prosecutors.

She is due to report on November 6. But with important ground still to cover, the reporting date might need to be extended.