The Herald-Sun’s state political reporter, Shannon Deery, has done a good job analysing the proposed Victorian Government Omnibus Bill, which would see non-police authorised officers permitted to arrest and detain Victorians for unlimited periods of time:
Victorians have reason to be wary of the state government’s controversial COVID-19 omnibus bill.
…given the pandemic has lasted much longer than envisaged, the six-month limit is not enough and the omnibus bill seeks to extend provisions until April next year. That all makes sense.
However, what is controversial is that the bill also seeks to give authorised officers the power to detain people they deem to be a serious risk to public health.
How long could they be detained? As long as necessary.
Under the bill, authorised officers could be literally anyone the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services deems appropriate.
Unsurprisingly, this has sparked widespread alarm among lawyers, judges and human rights activists.
The conduct of the Victorian Police during the pandemic has been questionable.
First, the police lobbied the government against manning Melbourne’s quarantine hotels, which resulted in untrained private security being used instead. This resulted in quarantine breaches and seeded Victoria’s costly second virus wave.
Second, we have witnessed the police using heavy-handed enforcement tactics against the state’s residents, including the infamous head stomp of a mentally disabled man, the arrest of a pregnant mum, as well as the aggressive arrest of protesters and people not wearing masks.
Third, we have endured draconian enforcement of arbitrary curfews and 5 kilometre travel limits, among other things, with heavy fines of up to $5,000 handed out for minor breaches of the rules.
Here’s a novel idea. Instead of ruling over Melburnians with an iron fist and extending draconian powers to authorised officers to enforce inconsistent lockdown rules, how about getting the COVID-19 basics right?
First and foremost, stop contracting-out hotel quarantine to transient and low-paid private security workers and utilise highly trained (and well paid) staff with robust training in infection control.
Effective quarantine is Victoria’s number one defence against the virus. It is the number one risk area and where the greatest emphasis and resources from the state government must be placed. No other policy response comes even close to having an effective quarantine system.
Secondly, ensure that Victoria’s contact tracing system is up to snuff. It was shown to be the worst in the nation and failed dismally to prevent the quarantine leaks turning into a full-blown pandemic.
Melbournians don’t need more draconian enforcement of inconsistent rules. We need the Victorian Government to get the basics right and do its job.
Victorians have done their part and the government failed us.
