Coronavirus Australia: Sorting fact from fiction in Victoria’s coronavirus crisis
Understanding the sprawling mess behind Victoria’s second wave isn’t easy. Here, we lock down fact and fiction in the virus crisis.
THE VERDICT
Claims of security guards having sex with guests, politicians dodging questions and the phantom of a hundred ADF troops that may or may not have been offered.
If you’ve been left slightly confused by the fast fact-shuffling as the truth is slapped around like a ball in a frenzied game of political ping pong, well, I can’t blame you.
Understanding the sprawling mess of mistakes, spin, bureaucrats and COVID-19 behind Victoria’s second wave isn’t easy.
But fear not. The Australian is here to sort the fact from fiction for you.
We’ll update The Verdict as events unfold, because it could be a long time before this crisis ends.
Did hotel quarantine infection control breaches unleash Victoria’s second wave?
Verdict: True.
Science says Victoria’s second wave can largely be linked back to one family at the Rydges on Swanston Hotel who were allowed out of their room for supervised walks.
Epidemiologist Charles Alpren from Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services told the hotel quarantine inquiry on August 18 that “almost all cases of COVID-19 in the community … can be traced back to the transmission that started at the Rydges hotel in Swanston Street and the Stamford Plaza hotel.’’
Oh dear. And Victoria had done so well at stamping out community transmission.
Also, the inquiry heard infection control training included advice that personal protective equipment wasn’t necessary if a distance of 1.5 metres was maintained.
But what about all the quarantine bonking I heard about?
Verdict: Jury’s out
More salacious rumours, such as guards getting cosy with guests, as well as reports the contracted security companies subcontracted to cheaper and dodgy companies, have yet to play out at the inquiry.
But Arthur Moses SC, who is representing Unified Security, has described the tales of sexual dalliances between guards and guests as “rumour and innuendo”.
Who is responsible for the hotel quarantine failures?
Verdict: Someone’s ducking for cover but it’s not clear whose head should roll
It’s so unclear even Daniel Andrews says he’s not sure, with a $3 million inquiry and a gaggle of top price lawyers apparently needed to find out.
Counsel assisting the inquiry Tony Neal QC, understood to be a very intelligent man, has said it is unclear, with “overlapping responsibilities” between government departments.
Department of Health and Human Service Secretary Kym Peake says responsibility for the program lay with an overarching governance group.
But Jobs Minister Martin Pakula says DHHS was responsible for infection control, although he has declined to name a responsible minister.
To her credit, Victoria’s Health Minister Jenny Mikakos recently told The Age: “I didn’t have any involvement in how the governance was structured or signing off on any operational plan.”
“This appears to have been the officials doing that themselves.”
Yes Minister.
Why private security instead of ADF troops?
Verdict: Jury’s out
This is the hill the Victorian Premier has chosen to die on. From Dan Andrews saying there weren’t ADF troops on offer to Dan Andrews saying personnel were offered to enforce at home quarantine not hotel quarantine.
You say Operation Sentinel, I say Operation Soteria.
A parliamentary hearing heard the decision to use private security guards was made at a “very pivotal meeting” attended by bureaucrats, but not government ministers, chaired by Emergency Management Victoria Commissioner Andrew Crisp at 4.30pm March 27.
But, as The Australian has pointed out, Dan Andrews announced private security guards would be used at 3pm on March 27. Hmmm.
Adding madness to mystery, Defence Minister Linda Reynolds is adamant Victoria was offered ADF troops to assist with hotel quarantine on multiple occasions.
Adding to this, Lieutenant-General John Frewen said the ADF put 100 troops on standby to help Victoria establish the hotel quarantine system.
But Mr Andrews, ever agile, said the key to understanding this is the word “offer”.
“No one’s ever questioned [whether] there were additional ADF troops or ADF personnel and decisions were made by the ADF,” he said.
“If you read Andrew Crisp’s statement … have a look at the fine detail, then that I think deals with the issue around offers and requests.”
For the record, Mr Crisp‘s statement confirmed the ADF were involved in discussions on hotel quarantine on March 27 and March 28, but does not address a request for 850 troops on June 24 that was rescinded the next day.
“During these discussions I did not seek nor did representatives of the ADF offer assistance as part of the hotel quarantine program,” Mr Crisp said.
“Subsequent communications with the ADF on the 12th and 15th of April did not relate to ADF assistance as part of the program.”
Watch this space.
Is the hotel quarantine inquiry a judicial inquiry?
The Verdict: No, but it’s technically not wrong to call it that.
This has been a particular bugbear for Melbourne’s legal eagles, with Daniel Andrews repeatedly referring to a “Judge Jennifer Coate” and a “judicial inquiry”.
But Ms Coate is not a judge. She is a former judge that is very busy. And she is overseeing a board of inquiry not a judicial inquiry, although it is not technically incorrect to call it such.
When The Australian asked the judicial inquiry how it self-identified, a spokeswoman said: “The Inquiry considers itself a Board of Inquiry as per the Order in Council that appointed the Hon Jennifer Coate AO. Calling it a judicial inquiry is also acceptable (see Oaths and Affirmations Act 2018).”
We’re planning to update this as events unfold so if we’ve left something out, please contact remy.varga@theaustralian.com.au
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