Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews gave evidence to the Victorian hotel quarantine inquiry on Friday.
He said he did not know who made the decision to use private security in its hotel quarantine program, and stated he initially regarded Victoria’s Health Minister Jenny Mikakos and Jobs Minister Martin Pakula “as responsible for informing cabinet about, and seeking cabinet’s endorsement of, the initial overall service model and costings that had been determined for the program”.
Later, he held Ms Mikakos as accountable. The Crisis Council of Cabinet (CCC), Victoria’s core decision making program, was provided with regular reports by Ms Mikakos giving data relevant to Victoria’s response to public health.
Systems around the hotel quarantine program were not finalised on 27 March, when the national cabinet decision was announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
READ MORE: Jenny Mikakos sends mixed messages during COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry
Mr Andrews said Victoria was attempting to establish “a very substantial logistical undertaking” within 36 hours. “It would be fairly described as an unprecedented set of circumstances,” he said.
Asked about who was in charge of the scheme. He said, “I might’ve had sense of departmental arrangements but I think agency arrangements; I would not necessarily be briefed specifically on that. It might come forward perhaps as something that the state control centre had done maybe, trying to if you like grouping together different agencies.”
Mr Andrews doesn’t know whose decision it was to use private security.
