X U

CORONAVIRUS LIVE Live updates COVID-19 sta

HOME / NATION

Coronavirus: Judges,
QCs call on Daniel
Andrews to drop
‘COVID-19 Omnibus’
bill

THEAUSTRALIAN.COM.AU | 5:26
Melbourne 'absolutely on track' to take a step on
September 28: Andrews

EXCLUSIVE
By DAMON JOHNSTON
5 MINUTES AGO SEPTEMBER 22, 2020 • H 7

L O b K
An eminent group of retired judges and
high-powered Queen’s Councils has written
an open letter calling on the Victorian
Parliament to reject legislation that makes it
easier to detain people during the
coronavirus pandemic.

Fourteen legal figures have taken the unusual

step of coming together to launch a scathing
attack, warning the Andrews Government’s
COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures)
and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2020 (Bill)
endangered the freedoms of Victorians.

“We are deeply concerned by the passage of

the … Bill through the Legislative Assembly,”
the letter states. “The Bill would also allow
any person the Secretary considered
appropriate to be authorised to exercise
emergency powers. There would be no
requirement that persons authorised be
police officers, or even public servants.

“Authorising citizens to detain their fellow

citizens on the basis of a belief that the
detained person is unlikely to comply with
emergency directions by the “authorised”
citizens is unprecedented, excessive and open
to abuse.

“We call on the Legislative Council to amend

the Bill, or to vote against it.”

Justice Peter Heerey

I
The Hon. Michael McHugh AC QC

Retired High Court judge Michael McHugh,

AC QC, and former Federal Court judges
Peter Heerey, AM QC, and Neil Young, QC,
headline the list of respected legal figures
who have signed the letter.

READ MORE: Premier’s terrifying

Orwellian turn | We shut for a virus unlikely
to kill us | Locked down and living with it:
state backs Dan | Queensland to relax
border to NSW

Other QCs who have joined the push are;

James Peters, Peter Collinson, Maryanne
Loughnan,

Mary Anne Hartley, Philip Crutchfield,

Georgina Schoff, Philip Solomon, David Batt,
Stuart Wood, Felicity Gerry and Michael
Borsky.

Earlier this month, the Andrews Government

introduced the controversial legislation into
the Legislative Assembly, where the bill is
currently being debated. The government has
the numbers in the Lower House to force the
bill through, but will need the support of
crossbench to have it pass through the
Legislative Council.

The primary concern of the Group of 14 is

the bill widens the type of person who will
have the powers to detain Victorians, and
also gives them the authority to do so on a
pre-emptive basis.

“Emergency powers already allow authorised

officers under the Public Health and
Wellbeing Act 2008 (Vic) to detain people
and to restrict movement,” the lawyers write.

“The Bill would expand the emergency

powers to allow an authorised officer to
detain:

Any person that the authorised officer

reasonably believes is likely to fail to comply
with an

emergency direction and is a close contact of

a person diagnosed with COVID-19 (or a

person diagnosed with COVID-19) not given

clearance from self-isolation,

“For so long as the authorised officer

reasonably believes the person in detention is
likely to

fail to comply with an emergency direction.”

THE LETTER IN FULL

“We are deeply concerned by the passage of

the COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency
Measures) and Other Acts Amendment Bill
2020 (Bill) through the Legislative Assembly.

Emergency powers already allow authorised

officers under the Public Health and
Wellbeing Act 2008 (Vic) to detain people
and to restrict movement.

The Bill would expand the emergency

powers to allow an authorised officer to
detain:

• any person that the authorised officer

reasonably believes is likely to fail to comply
with an

emergency direction and is a close contact of

a person diagnosed with COVID-19 (or a

person diagnosed with COVID-19) not given

clearance from self-isolation;

• for so long as the authorised officer

reasonably believes the person in detention is
likely to

fail to comply with an emergency direction.

The Bill would also allow any person the

Secretary considered appropriate to be
authorised to

exercise emergency powers. There would be

no requirement that persons authorised be
police

officers, or even public servants.

Authorising citizens to detain their fellow

citizens on the basis of a belief that the
detained person is unlikely to comply with
emergency directions by the “authorised”
citizens is unprecedented, excessive and open
to abuse.

We call on the Legislative Council to amend

the Bill, or to vote against it.

MICHAEL MCHUGH AC QC

PETER HEEREY AM QC

NEIL YOUNG QC

JAMES PETERS AM QC

PETER COLLINSON QC

MARYANNE LOUGHNAN QC

MARY ANNE HARTLEY QC

PHILIP CRUTCHFIELD QC

GEORGINA SCHOFF QC

PHILIP SOLOMON QC

DAVID BATT QC

STUART WOOD AM QC

FELICITY GERRY QC

MICHAEL BORSKY QC

DAMON JOHNSTON, VICTORIAN EDITOR

Damon Johnston has been a journalist for more than 35
years. Before joining The Australian as Victorian Editor in
February 2020, Johnston was the editor of the Herald Sun -
Australia's biggest selling daily new... Read more

Share this article

L O b K
More stories on this topic
Pandemic brings double standards out in
the open
Qantas flyers hoard and hope
Palaszczuk’s pandemic poll pointer

Topics
Coronavirus

READ NEXT

ECONOMY

JobSeeker/Keeper payments extended

Australia’s temporary income support measures, JobSeeker
and JobKeeper, will be better targeted to individual
circumstances and extended until December 31.
EMILY COSENZA

Luxury seekers lead stampede north

A life of luxury is in demand in Brisbane, with top-end
properties setting the benchmark for sales and rents.
MACKENZIE SCOTT

DATAROOM

Tabcorp Jumbo offload

Tabcorp Holdings has offloaded its 11.6 per cent stake in
ASX-listed lotteries operator Jumbo Interactive.
BRIDGET CARTER

At least 10 die in Indian flats collapse

Ten people were killed after a three-storey block of flats
collapsed before dawn on Monday in western India.

MARKETS

Australian stocks in a sea of red

The Australian share market has fallen through a key
support level and there are concerns the downward trend
will continue for some time.
REBECCA LE MAY

NEW US OPEN CHAMP

Mad Scientist tames Winged Foot

American Bryson DeChambeau completely overhauled his
body and game before a staggering US Open victory that
could revolutionise the sport. Is this the way to play?
WILL SWANTON

7 COMMENTS

You can now update the display or screen

name associated with your Subscriber account.
Click here for details and guidelines.

Reader comments on this site are moderated before

publication to promote lively, but civil and respectful
debate. We encourage your comments but submitting
one does not guarantee publication. You can read our
comment guidelines here. If you believe a comment has
been rejected in error, email
comments@theaustralian.com.au and we'll investigate.
Please ensure you include the email address you use
to log in so we can locate your comment.

Hi Theodore

COMMENTS MY PROFILE

! " #
Post a comment

2000 characters remaining

Post

$
The Old Codgers 4 MINUTES AGO
Why are the shock jocks so silent on this real
outrage?

Report ' Like % 3 Reply &

james 5 MINUTES AGO

Thank you to our learned jurists. Alas Victoria, a
state where 62% of constituents believe Daniel
Andrews is our exulted leader. What hope do we
have for the same majority to understand the
importance of the principles of democracy, truth
and freedom? I fear for our future as a society
lacking in maturity and courage and most
importantly no sense of history.

Report ' Like % 20 Reply &

Sandra 6 MINUTES AGO

Andrews must be stopped!
I despair at news that he still has majority
support. What is wrong with Victorians?
Are they getting all the facts?

Report ' Like % 11 Reply &

Louise 6 MINUTES AGO

Disgraceful bill! Why would people accept this,
Victorian Government is out of control! I am so
concerned for memebers of my family who live
down there and their mental health! They live in
fear!

Report ' Like % 13 Reply &

Peter 7 MINUTES AGO

Surely now Chairman Dan will realize he has
now overstepped the mark and, hopefully, will
see reason. The power he holds has gone to his
head. I feel sorry for all Victorians, you deserve
better than this. Peter B.

Report ' Like % 23 Reply &

Miriam 8 MINUTES AGO

Thank goodness someone is thinking in this
country. I feel so disempowered in Victoria. We
have lost our right to dissent and our right to
protest. The sight of police in riot gear at the Vic
Market are scenes from a dystopian nightmare.

Rational, intelligent people in our country

deserve to have a voice and to stop the assault on
our civil rights.

Report ' Like % 34 Reply &

Daniel 11 MINUTES AGO

This bill must be stopped!

Report ' Like % 49 Reply &

A NOTE ABOUT RELEVANT ADVERTISING: We collect

information about the content (including ads) you use across
this site and use it to make both advertising and content more
relevant to you on our network and other sites. This is also
known as Online Behavioural Advertising. You can find out
more about our policy and your choices, including how to
opt-out here.

Back to top F

More from The Australian

OUR PRODUCTS C

TERMS OF USE C

CONTACT US C

ABOUT US C

THE AUSTRALIAN APP

Copyright Nationwide News Pty Ltd. All times AEST (GMT +10:00)
Powered by WordPress.com VIP

{"success":false,"message":"Widget not found"}