Coronavirus: Inquiry deadline extended six weeks

Victoria’s hotel quarantine inquiry has had to extend its final reporting date by six weeks after the emergence of critical new evidence and DHHS document delays.

Victoria Police's then Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton during the COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine. Picture: COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry via NCA NewsWire

Victoria’s hotel quarantine inquiry has had to extend its final reporting date by six weeks after the emergence of critical new evidence and delays in receiving Health Department documents.

Inquiry chairwoman Jennifer Coate said an interim report outlining recommendations for a proposed quarantine program would be released on November 6, which had been the due date for its entire findings into the botched­ scheme.

While Ms Coate said the report­ would be released by December­ 21, it is believed the ­inquiry is confident it can unveil its findings by early December.

She said the “unfortunate delay” was due to it receiving additional material after the conclusion of closing submissions on September 28.

While the board had issued several further notices to produce documents as well as requests for affidavits, several documents and affidavits were “presently outstanding and may lead to further enquiries”.

It is understood the inquiry had to delay seeking a fresh statement from Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton due to delays in ­receiving documents from the Department of Health and Human Services.

As well as Professor Sutton, Premier Daniel Andrews, Police Minister Lisa Neville, DHHS secretary Kym Peake, former police chief commissioner Graham Ashton and former secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet Chris Eccles have been asked to make new statements.

The inquiry is considering who decided to engage private ­security guards for the hotel quarantine program in late March ­instead of using police and Australian Defence Force officers, a decision now seen as a catalyst for the coronavirus escaping and spreading across Melbourne.

A DHHS spokesman said the department received further requests for information from the inquiry this week, including the request for information from Professor Sutton about a key email which appears to contradict his evidence that he was not told about the use of private security guards until months after the scheme began.

The department has also received­ other requests for information about document searches it has undertaken. It said it was committed to co-operating and responding “in a timely way”.

Mr Andrews said the independent board of inquiry was “charged with a very important task and there was no sense, in my mind, that we wouldn’t agree to the request” for more time.

The state opposition said it was “disturbing” the Andrews government had not provided all additional documents requested by the inquiry, “despite several notices to produce”. “From day one, all we’ve seen is cover-ups and blame-shifting from the And­rews Labor government. Victor­ians deserve the truth,” it said.

Asked whether he knew what outstanding documents were ­referred to by the inquiry in its statement, Mr Premier said: “I can only speak to the requests that have been made of me.

“There was an affidavit and, for completeness’ sake, questions that were put to me.

“We complied with the timeline, which if memory­ serves correctly was last Thursday or maybe Friday, but we certainly delivered all of my material back when it was there; and if they need further inform­ation from me — and I don’t for a moment think they do — but if they did, then of course we would comply.’’