Alternative draft to Victorian emergency coronavirus powers
Three Victorian barristers have drafted COVID-specific legislation as an alternative to an ongoing state of emergency in Victoria.
Three Victorian barristers including Marcus Clarke QC have drafted COVID-specific legislation as an alternative to an ongoing state of emergency ahead of next week’s upper house vote on the Andrews government’s request for a nine-month extension to its extraordinary powers.
Mr Clarke and fellow barristers Vanessa Plain and Jason Harkess’s draft bill would amend the Public Health and Wellbeing Act to include a provision for detention/quarantine for people entering Victoria and/or infected with COVID-19, plus masks on public transport without the need for a state of emergency.
“Alternative legislation, along the lines of what is proposed in the draft bill … is a rational, proportionate response,” Ms Plain wrote in a letter to crossbench MPs
Key crossbencher Fiona Patten said she was concerned the proposed legislation was “very specific and narrow”.
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