VICTORIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Citizens detaining fellow citizens a bridge too far: jurists

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Original article by Damon Johnson, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 23-Sep-20

A group of barristers and retired judges have written an open letter to the Victorian government expressing concern about the COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) and Other Acts Amendment Bill. They have urged the state’s upper house to reject the bill outright or push for changes to it, warning that the powers that would be given to ‘authorised officers’ to arrest and detain people would be "unprecedented, excessive and open to abuse". Amongst other things, the bill would allow people to be detained indefinitely if it is suspected that they could potentially breach COVID-19 restrictions. Key crossbenchers have signalled that they will reject the bill, which has already passed the lower house.

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REASON PARTY

Victorian ALP Government support now 51.5% would win a close election with L-NP on 48.5%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 18-Sep-20

Since the 2018 Victorian State Election Two-party ALP support has dropped 5.8% while L-NP support is up 5.8% according to a special Roy Morgan SMS survey on Victorian voting intention with a cross-section of 1,147 Victorian electors aged 18+ over the last few days. Clear splits have emerged by gender and region in Victoria with women favouring the ALP (57%) cf. L-NP (43%) and Melburnians favouring the ALP (53.5%) cf. L-NP (46.5%) while men favour the L-NP (53.5%) cf. ALP (46.5%) and Country Victorians favour the L-NP (55%) cf. ALP (45%).

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Low blow: Andrews’ Covid goal too hard

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Original article by Stephen Lunn, Jamie Walker
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 8-Sep-20

World Health Organisation adviser Professor Dale Fisher has questioned the COVID-19 case number targets in the Victorian government’s ‘roadmap’ for easing lockdown restrictions. He says the trigger of having fewer than five new cases per day over two weeks before most of the restrictions are eased may be too low, and a higher daily target may be appropriate. Infectious diseases expert Peter Collignon says the state government has clearly adopted a strategy of elimination rather than suppression, even though it has not admitted this. Victoria recorded just 41 new coronavirus cases on 7 September, its lowest daily total in more than 10 weeks. The state’s death toll from COVID-19 rose by nine to 675, lifting the national toll to 762.

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WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

Claimants face tough hurdles in virus class action

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 1-Sep-20

Law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan is leading a class action against the Victorian government on behalf of businesses that have been affected by the state’s new coronavirus lockdown. The lawsuit will allege that the government was negligent in its handling of the hotel quarantine program. Evidence from the inquiry into the botched program will be crucial in the class action, as will the results of genomic sequencing to trace the initial source of the second wave of infections. However, prominent lawyer Julian Burnside warns that establishing causation may be difficult.

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QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART AND SULLIVAN LP

Andrews sets date to reveal his post-shutdown plans for Victoria

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The New Daily – Page: Online : 1-Sep-20

Premier Daniel Andrews will outline a ‘roadmap’ for easing Victoria’s coronavirus lockdown restrictions on 6 September. However, he says another week of daily case numbers will be needed before any decisions are made about which restrictions can be relaxed from 13 September. Victoria reported 73 new coronavirus cases on 31 August, the lowest daily total in eight weeks. The state has reported an additional 41 deaths from the respiratory illness; 33 of these deaths occurred in aged-care facilities in recent weeks but had not previously been reported to health authorities. Victoria’s death toll from COVID-19 has risen to 565, and the national toll is now 652.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Virus kills 17 Victorians, state to spend extra $60m on mental health

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Original article by Stephen Lunn, Tessa Akerman
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 10-Aug-20

Victoria reported 394 new coronavirus cases on 9 August, which is the state’s lowest daily total since 29 July. This followed 466 new cases on the previous day. However, Victoria’s death toll from the respiratory illness has risen by 17 and now stands at 210, while the national death toll is 295. Meanwhile, the state government will allocate an additional $60m for mental health funding. New figures show that there has been a sharp increase in use of mental health services in the state over the last six weeks, particularly among those under the age of 18.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Melbourne set for harder lockdown

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Jul-20

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has warned that further coronavirus lockdown restrictions may be necessary in response to the rising number of infections in the state. Stage-four restrictions have yet to be imposed in any Australian jurisdiction, with metropolitan Melbourne land the Mitchell Shire currently subject to state-three restrictions. Chief Health Officer Dr Brett Sutton has also flagged the possibility of increased restrictions. Meanwhile, the Australian Defence Force will deploy an additional 1,000 personnel across the state to assist in containing the virus’s spread.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE

Melbourne locked down: Premier pleads for help

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 8-Jul-20

The Victorian government has extended stage-three lockdown restrictions to the 31 local government areas across metropolitan Melbourne after a record 191 new coronavirus cases were reported in the state on 7 July. The six-week lockdown also includes the Mitchell Shire, which is located north of Melbourne. Premier Daniel Andrews says the growth in new cases is unsustainably high and failure to take action would have seen the virus get out of control. There are currently 772 active cases in Victoria, including 438 that have been attributed to community transmission.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Wage-theft laws may be gazumped

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 4 : 18-Jun-20

The Victorian government’s Wage Theft Bill will take effect in mid-2021 after being passed by the state’s upper house. Premier Daniel Andrews has defended the 12-month delay, arguing that a transition period is needed. The federal government’s draft bill to criminalise wage theft could be enacted before the state legislation, whose penalties include jail terms of up to 10 years for employers who deliberately underpay their staff.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

IBAC will look into branch stacking

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 4 : 18-Jun-20

The branch-stacking scandal that has embroiled Victorian Labor has been referred to the state’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, which has confirmed that it has commenced an investigation into it. However, the state government is resisting a push to have the allegations referred to the Victorian Ombudsman, despite an Opposition motion to this effect being passed by parliament’s upper house on 17 June. Meanwhile, some members of Labor’s Right faction have accused Premier Daniel Andrews and federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese of a ‘power grab’.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, VICTORIA. INDEPENDENT BROAD-BASED ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET