© David Crosling/NCA NewsWireNine public housing towers were locked down during the pandemic in Melbourne.
The Andrews government is refusing to apologise for "violating the human rights" of about 3000 people who were forced into a hard lockdown in nine public housing towers.
Despite a scathing report that on Thursday concluded the government's call "was not based on direct health advice", Housing Minister Richard Wynne said "we make no apologies for saving lives".
"We've made it very clear that on the first day was extremely challenging, we had to stand this thing up from, you know, with limited notice, we had to stand it up and put the lockdown in place," he told reporters.
© Andrew Henshaw/NCA NewsWireVictorian Housing Minister Richard Wynne says the government will not apologize for saving lives.
"Certainly, by the next day things were smoothed out, and I think it would be fair to say that all of the appropriate supports that were required to support the tenants in this very, very challenging environment."Coronavirus infections triggered a decision to send police to contain 3000 residents in about nine public housing towers in Flemington and North Melbourne for almost two weeks earlier this year.
The Victorian ombudsman investigating the "hard" lockdown found senior health officials agreed on the morning of Saturday, July 4 that the towers should be locked down to control a COVID-19 outbreak, anticipating a next-day start to allow planning for food supplies and other logistics.
But at a media conference at 4pm the Premier announced the lockdown would start immediately.
The Ombudsman's Deborah Glass said the investigation found the immediate start "appeared traceable to a Crisis Council of Cabinet meeting at 1.45pm that afternoon".
The Ombudsman's request for documents from the cabinet meeting, which are subject to privilege, was denied.
© Daniel Pockett/NCA NewsWireThe Victorian government has been asked to apologize to the tower residents, acknowledging the impact of their immediate detention on their health and wellbeing.
"Many residents knew nothing of the lockdown or the reason for it when large numbers of police appeared on their estate that afternoon," Ms Glass said.Ms Glass said the lockdown was lifted at eight of the nine towers after five days, but residents at 33 Alfred St, where infection rates were highest, were detained for another nine days.
"We heard that initially there was chaos. Some people were without food and medicines. At the tower at 33 Alfred St, the focus of the investigation, residents waited more than a week to be allowed outside under supervision for fresh air.
"Since March, restrictions on movement both broad and specific have been issued many times in Victoria but never before or since without warning."
The investigation found that a temporary lockdown was warranted and successfully contained the outbreak, but its immediacy was not based on direct public health advice.
"The rushed lockdown was not compatible with the residents' human rights, including their right to humane treatment when deprived of liberty. In my opinion, based on the evidence gathered by the investigation, the action appeared to be contrary to the law," she said.
© David CroslingHundreds of police were deployed to contain the residents.
Ms Glass said the Victorian government did not agree that the detention could have been contrary to law or that any human rights were breached.
The Ombudsman's investigation received nearly 150 complaints and submissions about the treatment of residents at 33 Alfred Street, North Melbourne and the other public housing towers.
© David CroslingVictorian Ombudsman’s Deborah Glass released her findings of an investigation into the government’s lockdown of nine public housing towers.
"People just saw hordes of police around and had no idea what was going on," she told reporters.
"Many of these people came from war-torn and deeply troubled backgrounds ... where they had been tortured at the hands of their states. The sight of police surrounding the buildings, government officials knocking at the door unexpected was deeply traumatising."She said the installation of temporary barbed wire fencing outside the Alfred St tower - which was swiftly taken down - was "degrading".
"They acknowledge the mistake very quickly ... but it was appalling. It was an appalling look," she said.Despite the explosive findings, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews maintained "all decisions in this pandemic have been based on the very best public health advice".
© Andrew Henshaw/NCA NewsWireVictorian Premier Daniel Andrews says all decisions in this pandemic were based on the very best public health advice.
Mr Andrews said:
"There is no rule book for this, nobody in Victoria has done this before. We took the steps that the experts said were necessary to save lives,"
Comment: "Stay home - save lives" was their mantra all over the world in order to use this manufactured crisis to impose tyrannical policies that they're hoping to become the 'new normal'. It was never about the "deadly" virus and their care for our health. It was about their need for total control and enslavement of the planet.
Their "new normal" is a reality where we are their obedient slaves and the psychopathic elites are our "divine" masters. They are playing with fire and those who play with fire will get burned sooner or later.