On Wednesday, Victoria recorded 471 new coronavirus cases and eight deaths, while the state’s new stage four lockdown is estimated to cost over $9 billion, see up to 250,000 people stood down or lose jobs permanently, and reap a harvest of mental health issues.

Premier Daniel Andrews faced a serious grilling by journalists in Wednesday’s press COVID-19 conference, the sort he’s never faced.

The tough questions were over his awareness of events surrounding the Hotel Quarantine fiasco, his government’s reluctance to use the Army, Police or PSOs to guard return travellers in hotel quarantine.

Allegations of guards having sex with quarantined returned travellers is at the core of the resurgent COVID19 infections in Victoria.

When one journalist asked what the Premier felt about the ‘hotel quarantine debacle’ Mr Andrews said that was not about his feelings.

Premier Andrews sidestepped the question and said that his decision to set up a judicial inquiry “wasn’t difficult” and that he wants to “get to the bottom of this”.

“I want answers, I will be accountable for these mistakes but it is not for me to sit in judgement of myself or my colleagues, that should be done at arm’s length.”

When others in the conference said that thousands of people, businesses owners, tradies, workers, were confused about where they stood in the lockdown the Premier alluded the possibility of mistakes due to the “haste of implementing this lockdown”.

This provided the opportunity to ask how the Victorian community could be assured that a similar “catastrophic fiasco won’t happen again” due do the haste of this shutdown?

READ MORE: 471 cases announced for Victoria and eight deaths as tough new restrictions are implemented

“Because there is a sense of urgency here, the sooner we act the sooner we will limit movement, as soon as we limit movement the sooner we will drive down those case numbers, that is the advice of the experts.

“I think the alternative I suppose would be that over the course of the weekend I get provided with advice from the experts to take certain steps and I say no I don’t think we should do that, I’m not gonna (sic) do that, that’s not the way this should work, it should be to make the tough calls, that’s all I’ve done it’s not a position we want to be in, it’s by no means easy but I think things will settle in in coming days”

Mr Andrews was asked if he felt that his government maintained any credibility over the handling of hotel quarantine.

“I’m not gonna (sic) sit here and be a commentator on myself,” said Mr Andrews.

The Premier was asked when he was first notified of issues with the hotel quarantine system, and given that Former Justice Coate said that no general restriction or prohibition should prevent a person from commenting publicly on matters which are the subject of the board of inquiry

“It’s not about being legally prohibited, no one’s ever asserted that,” said Mr Andrews. In fact Mr Andrews has been deferring questions like these over the last five weeks, citing his reluctance to influence the Judicial Inquiry.

“I’m accountable, I have never shirked that responsibility, I’ve never moved so much as an inch away from that responsibility, that is the role that I have, I will own those errors.

“That is why an inquiry was set up, because I don’t have those answers, I have not read through the 100,000 pages of documents that have been provided to Justice Coate.

“I have not gone and conducted a judicial inquiry…myself into myself, I don’t think that’s an appropriate way to go,” Mr Andrews said.

READ MORE: Migrants, Mikakos, hotel sex and the ‘super spreader’ in scramble to find a ‘scapegoat’

The Premier was probed about when he first knew about the quarantine hotel failure and the fact that the virus got out of there into the community.

“The chief health officer stood here, as did I, and reported that genomic sequencing data had clearly shown that a significant proportion of cases could be traced back to hotel quarantine”

When asked about releasing the report on the hotel bungle the Premier said, “the report is not a product I have.”

Mr Andrews concede that it was in fact his “government’s product” that the results of that genomic sequencing would be made available to the judicial inquiry.

When pushed as to why he’s not releasing data or information, given that Judge Coates said the Premier could, he said that he would “speak with the public health team about what data they have.”

One journalist emphasises the “point of principle” and asked, “You know the answer, the former Justice has said there is no legal impediment, surely today is the day?”

“I was briefed and reported to you that a batch of genomic sequencing demonstrated that a significant portion of cases had come from hotel quarantine,” again conceded the Premier.

Mr Andrews went on to say that he had, “no further advice beyond that.”

READ MORE: Opposition accuses Victoria’s Health Minister Jenny Mikakos for ‘contempt’ of Parliament

The Premier also admitted he was unaware of which department had oversight for training security guard at the quarantine hotels.

“Who was overseeing the security guards?

“Who is responsible for decisions at an operational level? They are some of the questions I simply don’t have the answers to.”