COVID-19 quarantine plans not on the menu at Daniel Andrews’s dinner with Lindsay Fox

Daniel Andrews’s office says plans to quarantine arrivals at Avalon Airport were not discussed when the Premier dined last month with owner Lindsay Fox.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: Getty Images

Daniel Andrews’s office says plans to quarantine international arrivals at Avalon Airport were not discussed when the Victorian Premier dined last month at trucking magnate and airport owner Lindsay Fox’s family compound on the Mornington Peninsula.

The confirmation of the dinner follows Mr Andrews’s claim during question time in state parliament on Thursday that opposition Treasury spokeswoman Louise Staley was a “conspiracy theorist” after she asked whether the Premier had met Mr Fox or his family at their $30m Portsea estate or in Melbourne over the past six months.

The question followed Mr ­Andrews’s announcement on Tuesday that government officials were investigating the possible use of parcels of land near Melbourne and Avalon airports to construct stand-alone accommodation hubs as an alternative to CBD-based quarantine hotels.

Sources familiar with a January 9 dinner say no business was discussed at the event, which has been described as a “thank you dinner” after the Victorian and federal governments contributed funding to an Alfred Hospital melanoma research project that has received strong philanthropic support from Mr Fox and his wife, Paula.

Former federal finance minister-turned OECD secretary-general candidate Mathias Cormann and his wife, Hayley, were also ­invited, but were unable to attend because of border closures.

Other attendees at the Fox ­estate included Mr Andrews’s wife, Catherine, Mr Fox’s son ­Andrew and Seek co-founder ­Andrew Bassatt.

The dinner occurred two days after Mr Andrews cut short what had been intended as an extended summer break and returned to work amid chaos after thousands of Victorians had found themselves stranded or detained in hotel quarantine as a result of ­Victoria’s snap New Year’s Eve border closure with NSW.

He had previously planned to holiday with his family nearby on the Mornington Peninsula.

In parliament on Thursday, the Premier evaded questions from Ms Staley about his relationship with Mr Fox and his family.

“Here I was thinking that the only conspiracy theorist from that outfit over there was Bernie Finn in the other place,” Mr Andrews said, in a reference to Liberal upper house MP Mr Finn’s recent address to an online rally organised by a Facebook group that promotes anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.

“I meet with many Victorians, because they invite me to meet with them, unlike so many over there, who no one wants to meet with, no one wants to talk to and no one wants to vote for.

“What a ridiculous question,” he said.