Former Victorian health minister Jenny Mikakos, who stepped down as minister and quite Parliament in September, has called for a royal commission into Australia’s pandemic response.
Ms Mikakos made her surprising testimony at a parliamentary inquiry held Thursday, while providing evidence into the closure of catering business, I Cook Foods, on Thursday. She said a time would come for Victorians to know “the truth in all matters” and also talked about departmental issues.
Asked about her confidence in Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton, she referred to her resignation statement. She said there were “clearly matters that my department officials should have briefed me on”.
“Clearly when I was referring to officials, I also had Dr Sutton in mind,” she said. “There were clearly circumstances where I felt very frustrated and disappointed.”
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She said there was an appetite across all political divides for governments to be examined and took a swipe at Professor Sutton, calling into question his performance.
Ms Mikakos told Liberal MP Craig Ondarchie, “The subcommittee that you’re a member of had an inquiry late last year into contact tracing and chose not to call me as a witness.”
She said that there has been no re-examination of issues related to the hotel quarantine inquiry, either.
“I’m mindful of the fact that there is currently litigation on foot relating to the state’s pandemic response and it’s yet to be resolved. I do bear that in mind in terms of what I say about these matters,” she said, adding her commitment to Victorians “knowing the truth in all matters”.
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“I believe there will come a time when that may be able to occur, whether that’s in a court of law or potentially a federal royal commission,” she said.
“I would support such a royal commission because I think there is a need for a thorough examination of the entire pandemic response by the federal government by state governments.
“Not just in terms of hotel quarantine, vaccine rollouts, hospital preparedness (but) also to look at the lessons to be learnt for the future because these pandemics will keep occurring.
“That needs to occur at some point in the future.”
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Ms Mikakos’ resignation last year had come following an investigation into leaks from two Victorian quarantine hotels which led to thousands of COVID-19 cases and 800 deaths. At the time a paper-based contact tracing system was in effect, which has been improved since then.
Ms Mikakos’ support for a federal royal commission to examine policies during Victoria’s Royal Commission is also backed by several federal Labor MPs as well as the state Liberal Party and former Liberal Premier Jeff Kennett.
“There’s clearly some people across the political divide who think these issues need to be looked at more deeply, and I will certainly support those moves and be happy to participate in any such royal commission,” she said.
