Coronavirus: Inquiry shifts its focus to Brett Sutton

The inquiry will confront concerns about Brett Sutton’s evidence and departmental failure to release crucial material.

The spotlight has intensified on Brett Sutton amid revelations he had declared earlier this month that Victoria was open for New Zealanders to visit. Picture: Ian Currie

Victoria’s hotel quarantine ­inquiry will confront head-on ­escalating concerns about Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton’s evidence and departmental failure to release crucial material.

The inquiry is examining whether it was deliberately ­deprived of key emails that show Professor Sutton knew — or should have known — that security guards were being used for hotel quarantine in late March.

The inquiry’s head, former judge Jennifer Coate, will on Tuesday appear in an extraordinary hearing after weeks of damaging revelations that have culminated in the publishing of emails that suggest Professor’s Sutton’s written and verbal evidence to the inquiry was wrong.

The inquiry is believed to be alarmed by the Department of Health and Human Service’s failure to release all emails relating to Professor Sutton’s knowledge of hotel quarantine security.

The inquiry is not expected to call new witnesses on Tuesday, or recall witnesses, but Ms Coate may address community concerns about developments in the scandal in recent weeks that have placed Professor Sutton and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews under intense pressure.

The spotlight has intensified on Professor Sutton amid revelations he had declared earlier this month that Victoria was open for New Zealanders to visit. This was the day after a trans-Tasman “travel ­bubble” was announced.

The revelation raises doubts over Mr Andrews’s claims he was caught off-guard by the arrival of Kiwis on ­Friday.

Mr Andrews said on Monday it was reasonable to expect that they would not have been permitted to travel into Victoria, despite the state’s border remaining open to interstate visitors.

However, this month he was at a press conference in which Professor Sutton was asked about the travel bubble, of which NSW and the Northern Territory were to be the first participants.

Professor Sutton said at the time he did not believe that Victoria had “missed out”.

“New Zealanders are free to come to Victoria,” he said.

The pandemic is becoming a political minefield for Labor.

DHHS was required to provide all relevant information to the inquiry, including Professor Sutton’s emails that cover hotel quarantine.

The inquiry is still believed to be heading towards a November 6 reporting date but an extension is seen as a possibility.

It was reported at the weekend that Professor Sutton had authorised an email in March showing knowledge that private security guards were to be used to monitor overseas travellers.

However, Professor Sutton has previously said he did not know about the botched strategy until late May, after the catastrophic outbreak had happened.

The final hotel quarantine report will be crucial to the short-term future of Mr Andrews, who has been under immense pressure since the second wave led to hundreds of deaths and placed Melbourne in an economic coma.

Despite months of debate, no one is claiming responsibility for deciding to hire security guards in the hotel quarantine system.

Professor Sutton’s evidence will be forensically examined by the inquiry, as will that of former head of the Department of Premier and Cabinet Chris Eccles.

Mr Eccles resigned after a review of his telephone records showed he had spoken to chief police commissioner Graham Ashton on the afternoon that the decision was made to use security guards in quarantine hotels. This contradicted his evidence.

Department of Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo said on Monday it appeared Victorian health officials were aware the Andrews government would use private contractors as security for the hotel quarantine program.


He confirmed the accuracy of a report in Nine newspapers showing an email trail between Mr Sutton, DHHS officials and Home Affairs officials.

The report said emails showed DHHS telling Home Affairs on March 27, hours after nat­ional cabinet agreed to mandatory quarantine, that Victoria would use private security at hotels.

Professor Sutton was copied into the emails, which were not tendered to the inquiry.