Victorian health officer Annaliese van Diemen counselled over social media use, privacy concerns raised
Concerns have been raised over Annaliese van Diemen being involved in handling data from the federal COVIDSafe app.
Victoria’s opposition has expressed concern about the state’s Deputy Chief Health Officer being involved in handling sensitive personal information gleaned through the federal COVIDSafe app, after she last week likened Captain Cook to COVID-19 in a tweet.
Victoria’s Acting Public Sector Commissioner on Tuesday confirmed Annaliese van Diemen had been counselled on her use of social media and had removed her Twitter app from her taxpayer-funded phone.
However, Dr van Diemen’s Twitter account — including the Captain Cook tweet and numerous politically partisan and controversial tweets — remains online.
Sudden arrival of an invader from another land, decimating populations, creating terror. Forces the population to make enormous sacrifices & completely change how they live in order to survive. COVID19 or Cook 1770?
— Dr Annaliese van Diemen (@annaliesevd) April 29, 2020
State Coalition upper house leader David Davis said that while he supported the COVIDSafe app, he had concerns about privacy in light of Dr van Diemen’s Twitter record.
“It is critical that Dr Annaliese van Diemen and all involved in the health officers’ work are not only above reproach but are seen to be above reproach. They do, after all, handle highly sensitive personal information of people across the community including the data from the new Federal COVID tracing app,” Mr Davis said.
“I support the COVIDSafe app and want to see it succeed.
“But, when the sensitive data on people’s contacts is handed from the commonwealth to the state health officers and their department, it is critical that proper and iron-clad privacy measures are in place.
“Sadly, Dr van Diemen’s repeated forays into politics risk leaving those with alternate political views fearful their personal contacts will be followed up by a political opponent.”
Mr Davis said Premier Daniel Andrews’ dismissal of concerns about the “politicisation” of Dr van Diemen’s role seemed “not to have understood the sensitive nature of the contacts involved in the tracing”.
“The Premier will need to ensure that appropriate boundaries and controls are placed on Dr van Diemen as she directs the contact tracing and follow-up,” he said.
“ Such cavalier disregard of privacy concerns risks diminishing trust in the whole system.
“Who could be confident Dr van Diemen wouldn’t hound a political opponent?
“The failure of DHHS Secretary, Kym Peake, to understand the high level of trust involved in contact tracing is also a concern.
“The Deputy Chief Health Officer’s role is not that of an average bureaucrat.”
Annaliese van Diemen to have social media training over Captain Cook tweet. The ‘distraction’ is tweet itself, wrong. How can people have confidence in political neutrality, when highly partisan material attacking #Cook is put out publicly? #springst https://t.co/YzcrpBiUlg
— David Davis (@DavidDavisMLC) May 5, 2020
Annaliese van Diemen counselled over social media use
In a letter to Victoria’s Public Sector Commission, Health and Human Services Department Secretary Kym Peake said that on Thursday April 30 — the day Dr van Diemen’s tweet came to public attention — the Deputy CHO had met with senior managers in the department “to discuss the risks of private use of social media when working in the public sector, and particularly when occupying a role that involves high profile public communication.
“I am advised that Dr van Diemen recognised the risk of diverting attention from the critical public health messages to the community and has subsequently removed her Twitter account from her phone,” Ms Peake wrote on Saturday May 2.
“This accords with my own discussions with Dr van Diemen.”
However, in an earlier letter to the commission on May 1, Ms Peake said Dr van Diemen’s tweet last Wednesday had been issued when the Deputy CHO “was not at work and was given in her personal capacity”.
“The public health command is operating on a 24 hour/7 day a week roster and Wednesday 29 April (the day the tweet was issued) was her rostered day off,” Ms Peake wrote.
Dr van Diemen’s twitter bio states that she is Victoria’s Deputy CHO, and has been used in a professional context on numerous occasions.
The Victorian public service social media guidelines state that: “Whether using social media for official use, or in a private capacity, staff must not do anything that may adversely affect their standing as a public official or which could bring themselves or the public sector into disrepute.”
Read the full correspondence here
Tweet “did not” contravene code: Secretary
Ms Peake nevertheless said she had concluded Dr van Diemen’s tweet “did not” constitute a contravention of the Code of Conduct for Victorian Public Sector Employees because:
– “the text of the tweet is, on its face, not in contravention of any other Victorian law or legislation;
– “the tweet was made in the author’s private capacity and is not obviously a comment to be attributed to the Victorian government or the Department of Health and Human Services;
– “the tweet, while made in a private context, does not directly relate to any government activity the author is involved in, i.e. indigenous affairs funding programs;
– “the tweet does not raise any obvious direct or indirect conflict of interest;
– “the tweet does not contain any confidential information or government material only known to the author through their employment; and
– “the tweet was not in breach of the department’s social media policy.”
“Annaliese plays a key role in the department as a public health physician,” Ms Peake wrote.
“In the context of the COVID-19 public health response she now has a higher profile role in the community.
“We have discussed the sensitive nature of any public communication and provided her with more communications support.
“I trust that this addresses the matters raised.”
Ms Peake’s letters to Acting Public Sector Commissioner Julia Griffith followed a letter to Ms Griffith from state opposition freedom of information spokesman James Newbury, asking her to investigate Dr van Diemen’s behaviour in light of the tweet.
On May 2, Ms Griffith wrote again to Ms Peake, requesting further information about Dr van Diemen’s compliance with section 3.9 ‘Public Trust’ in the Code of Conduct for Victorian Public Sector employees, which states that public servants should be “striving to earn and sustain public trust of a high level”.
Ms Peake said Dr van Diemen was currently working together with Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton leading the COVID-19 public health function of the health department, which was engaged in managing containment of COVID-19 through information to the public, management of positive cases, case tracing, isolation and quarantine of affected Victorians and management of outbreaks of the virus, providing expert advice to government on the epidemiology of COVID-19 in Victoria and on the experience of the virus internationally, determining testing criteria for the virus and programs of surveillance to identify cases and determine prevalence of the virus in the community, interacting with pathology labs to support management of critical resources, issuing enforceable directions to achieve population based interventions to suppress the virus, and participating as a member of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC), chaired by Professor Brendan Murphy, the federal Chief Medical Officer.
“In assessing compliance with section 3.9 of the Code of Conduct, I have relevantly given consideration to any impact of Dr van Diemen’s tweet of 29 April on public confidence in the fulfilment of these functions,” Ms Peake wrote.
“Based on the evidence available to me (as set out below), I am satisfied that Ms van Diemen is now aware of the potential risks of private social media commentary.
“I am further satisfied that there continues to be public confidence in Victoria’s public health advice and expertise, and in Dr van Diemen’s leadership role.”
Ms Peake listed Dr van Diemen’s counselling on social media use and deletion of her Twitter app, high levels of public compliance with COVID-19 directions and public responsiveness to health messaging, community and business co-operation with public health responses to COVID-19 outbreaks, and Dr van Diemen’s ongoing role as Professor Sutton’s deputy at AHPPC meetings as reasons she maintained confidence in Dr van Diemen.
She noted that Dr van Diemen had attended Saturday’s AHPPC meeting — two days after the furore erupted over her tweet — on behalf of Professor Sutton.
Ms Peake also quoted Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy’s comments at a press conference last Friday, that Dr van Diemen was a “fine young public health physician who has been working 80 hours a week for the past two months”.
“She made a personal tweet and that’s a matter on her personal Twitter account for her. I don’t personally concur with her view, but I think that’s a matter for her,” Professor Murphy said at the time.
Department to overhaul social media policy
Ms Peake said the department’s strategic communications team had reviewed the it’s social media policy, with an update to be considered by the executive board and released this week.
“This will be promoted to all staff and built into induction and ongoing professional development across the department,” she said.
“The Director of Strategic Communications is also developing a more comprehensive training package for departmental officials are asked to assume a higher public profile to ensure public confidence in the functions and advice of the department.”
Public Service Commission can’t investigate further without Premier’s direction
In her letter to Mr Newbury following her investigation of Dr van Diemen’s behaviour and correspondence with Ms Peake, Ms Griffith said the Public Administration Act gave her the power to make recommendations to a public sector body head regarding steps that should be taken to promote or comply with public sector values and codes of conduct, but did not set out any other mechanisms beyond making recommendations.
Ms Griffith said there were only two provisions in the Act allowing the Public Sector Commission to conduct investigations into compliance with public sector values and codes of conduct.
“In both cases, this is at the direction of the Premier,” Ms Griffith wrote, indicating her hands were tied.
Ms Griffith said Ms Peake had advised her that she was satisfied Dr van Diemen was “now aware of the potential risks of private social media commentary”.
“In the completion of my consideration, I note the Secretary’s conclusion and the steps the Department of Health and Human Services will take to enhance relevant guidance and training to departmental staff, including to public officials who are asked to assume a higher public profile,” Ms Griffith wrote.
“The commission is currently reviewing its Guidance for the Use of Social Media in the Victorian Public Sector.
“The commission’s consideration of this matter will inform the updated guidance.
“Furthermore, the commission will proactively communicate the updated guidance across the public sector and remind employees of the risks of private use of social media when working in the public sector and their obligations under the Code of Conduct.
“This letter has been copied to the Premier for his information as the responsible minister, noting that my consideration of the matters you have raised was undertaken independently having regard to the functions, powers and objectives of the commission under the (Public Administration Act).”
“This is about years of extreme political activism, not one tweet”
Mr Newbury said his objections to Dr van Diemen’s behaviour did not just relate to one tweet.
“This is about years of extreme political activism, including sharing vile attacks on the federal government, with whom she must have a professional relationship,” he said.
On January 5, Dr van Diemen retweeted a tweet from Twitter user “@parsect”, attacking Prime Minister Scott Morrison:
“Can anyone with a voice (media, celebrity, you) please ask Morrison or his d..khead MP mates how someone on the Indue cashless welfare card can eat and feed their family when the power is down due to fires? Are they just expected to die?” the tweet said.
Can anyone with a voice (media, celebrity, you) please ask Morrison or his dickhead MP mates how someone on the Indue cashless welfare card can eat and feed their family when the power is down due to fires? Are they just expected to die?
— Shaun (@parsect) January 5, 2020
Mr Newbury said Dr van Diemen’s behaviour did not “pass the pub test”.
“Victorians shouldn’t be paying for public servants to also be extreme left wing activists,” he said.
“Last week the Premier gave this behaviour the thumbs up, but the independent review has given it the thumbs down.”
Premier Daniel Andrews last week refused to reprimand the Dr van Diemen, saying she was doing an “amazing” job.
Mr Newbury’s state opposition colleague, Coalition planning spokesman Tim Smith, asked why Mr Andrews had not reprimanded the “green left activist”.
“Why hasn’t she deleted her partisan, political tweets whilst Deputy CHO? She should resign,” said Mr Smith, who brought Dr van Diemen’s tweet to public attention.
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Why won’t Daniel Andrews reprimand this green left activist @annaliesevd ? Why hasn’t she deleted her partisan, political tweets whilst Deputy CHO? She should resign. https://t.co/YrVLjpkwwO
— Tim Smith MP (@TimSmithMP) May 5, 2020