Daniel Andrews‘ draconian Covid lockdowns were not guided by medical advice, new documents have revealed.
The letters outlining the former premier’s decision-making process were released following a four-and-a-half year legal battle which concluded this week.
Victorians were forced to stay in their homes with a curfew from 8pm to 5am for two months in 2020 as part of the state’s extensive lockdown measures.
At the time Mr Andrews would not disclose who conceived the idea for the lockdowns but had conceded that ‘these are decisions ultimately made by me’.
A Freedom of Information battle waged by Opposition upper house leader David Davis since September 2020 revealed the lockdowns were not proposed by health experts but instead had been ‘a decision taken by Cabinet’, according to documents obtained by The Herald Sun.
Former chief health officer Brett Sutton and then-public health commander Finn Romanes discussed in an email exchange at the time that medical experts ultimately supported the mandates even though they had not proposed them.
Victoria’s current premier, Jacinta Allan, was part of a seven-member crisis cabinet that signed off on the lockdown and she is its only member still serving in parliament.
Mr Davis said Mr Andrews had acted as a ‘Lone Ranger’ during the lockdown despite what the public had been told during the pandemic.
Former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews did not rely on medical advice before he implemented a six-week statewide lockdown in August 2020
New documents unsealed by a Freedom of Information lawsuit brought about by Opposition upper house leader David Davis revealed the government acted alone at the time
The Opposition upper house leader hoped the release of this information would lead to an explanation from the government.
‘It is not just (for) the former Premier Daniel Andrews to explain but also Jacinta Allan, as his hand chosen successor,’ he said.
‘She can’t hide under a rock given the damage that was done to Victorians by decisions she was intimately involved in.’
Mr Andrews declared a state of disaster after Covid cases began rising in Victoria on August 2, 2020.
This order gave then-Police and Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville broad powers to make sure people were complying with the six-week curfew.
‘These are tough choices but they are the decisions I’ve taken because they’re the decisions that will keep us safe,’ Mr Andrews said at the time.
Later that day Dr Romanes, who was a public health commander, sent a letter to Professor Sutton asking if he would like the Department of Health and Human Services to issue a public health direction in line with the new lockdowns.
‘I note that I have been advised by (Department of Justice and Community Safety secretary) Kate Houghton and others that the action of a curfew is a clear action within the State of Disaster and there is a clear desire within government to mirror that within the State of Emergency, however note that the idea of a curfew has not arisen from public health advice in the first instance,’ he wrote.
Mr Davis said he hoped the new revelations would put pressure on the current premier, Jacinta Allan, to provide answers for why the government did what it did
Ms Allan was part of a seven-member crisis cabinet that signed off on the lockdown and she is its only member still serving in parliament
Dr Romanes clarified in the letter that his department’s action in issuing a curfew ‘is not occurring on public health advice but is a decision taken by cabinet’.
Professor Sutton sent back a confirmation 30 minutes later telling Dr Romanes that his assessment was ‘correct as I understand it’.
In September 2020, Professor Sutton said it had not been his idea to implement a curfew and Mr Andrews said he was unable to say ‘exactly which person at what moment’ had come up with the plan.
In March a government spokeswoman recently defended Mr Andrews’ actions as ‘necessary to protect all Victorians and save lives’.
