Coronavirus: Former Daniel Andrews MP urges Premier to release road map modelling

A federal Victorian Labor MP has urged the Andrews government to release the full modelling underpinning its road map to recovery.

Labor MP Daniel Mulino. Picture: Getty Images

A federal Victorian Labor MP has urged the Andrews government to release the full modelling underpinning its road map to recovery, declaring “more detailed information” would improve community confidence in the plan.

Fraser MP Daniel Mulino, a former Andrews government MP from the party’s Right faction, also declared Premier Daniel Andrews should provide information showing contract tracing processes had been strengthened since the beginning of the second wave.

Mr Mulino, who left state politics for Canberra last year, said Scott Morrison should also be more transparent and provide an explanation on why the COVID-19 tracing app has not found more contacts in Victoria.

“Families in Melbourne’s western suburbs are of course frustrated. The best way to ease that frustration is to offer more detailed information that is informing key decisions,” he told The Australian.

“People in my community back Daniel Andrews’s efforts to fix this public health crisis.

“Releasing more modelling and data, as they have done in recent weeks, will help build greater community confidence. Clear and detailed explanations about why the road map is going for low thresholds of active cases will reduce concerns and confusion.

“This includes information about how contract tracing processes are being strengthened.”

Mr Andrews has so far resisted pleas from the Prime Minister to release the full modelling that underpinned his road map, prepared by Melbourne University researchers Jason Thompson, Mark Stevenson and Tony Blakely, and University of New England health academic Rod McClure.

While the Andrews government has released a seven-page document that references the University of Melbourne modelling, the Morrison government says it does not explain the data or assumptions behind the modelling clearly or in enough detail.

Federal government sources said on Wednesday the commonwealth had received the “highest level elements” of the modelling and were expecting more detail.

Former federal opposition leader Bill Shorten on Tuesday said he wanted Victoria’s lockdown restrictions to “come off a bit quicker”, while other Victorian Right MPs have also told The Australian they are concerned about the plan and messaging from Mr Andrews during the crisis.