On Monday, Premier Daniel Andrews announced a further 12 month extension to Victoria’s State of Emergency taking it through to mid September next year. Under current legislation the State of Emergency can only operate for a period of six months, originally concluding on September 13, 2020. The Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 will be amended on September 1 to allow for the extension to go ahead. So what does a State of Emergency mean for Victoria?
What is a State of Emergency?
Definition: a situation of national danger or disaster in which a government suspends normal constitutional procedures in order to regain control.
A State of Emergency occurs when a government is given the power to pass policies that would not normally be permitted for the safety of their citizens. State of Emergencies are commonly declared during armed conflict, natural disasters, biosecurity risks, and during medical epidemics or pandemics.
What does a State of Emergency allow?
The State of Emergency issued across Victoria allows the Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton, additional power to issue directions to the public in the fight against COVID-19. These directions include the current curfew laws, mandatory wearing of face masks, business closures and social distancing rules.
Andrews addressed his Facebook followers on Monday explaining why he is pushing to extend the State of Emergency, stating that it allows the government to implement protections necessary to keep Victorians safe.
“Without it, these changes could take weeks or months to pass through Parliament – but in a health crisis like this, where the situation changes daily, that just isn’t workable,” he said.
The State of Emergency allows authorised officers selected by the Department of Heath and Human Services to order individuals to stay confined to their homes following a positive COVID-19 test to reduce risk to public health. The State of Emergency also allows for the restriction of movement across the state and the ability to search a premises without a warrant.
A State of Emergency gives authorised officials the power to implement any laws of rules necessary to protect the health of the public.
Under the Public Health and Wellbing Act 2008, the Chief Health officer and selected authorised officers can act further on any of the following areas:
- Any person or group in a particular area can be detained to eliminate or reduce a serious risk to public health.
- The movement of people within the emergency area can be restricted.
- People can be prevented from entering an emergency area.
- Authorised officers can make any direction considered reasonably necessary to protect public health.
Why is the State of Emergency being extended?
The State of Emergency was initially declared on March 16 with the purpose being to “flatten the curve” of COVID-19 cases. Health officials are trying to slow the spread of the virus in order to reduce public risk and reduce the pressure on the current medical system.
The initial State of Emergency was declared to implement social distancing rules and allow for a 14 day mandatory quarantine process when citizens returned to Australia from overseas.
Since then, the State of Emergency has allowed for further rulings to be passed and implemented across the state. Along with social distancing and the 14 day self isolation period, the government has also been able to close businesses, implement an 8pm-5am curfew, and restrict movement outside of 5km from a citizens home.
Andrews is hoping to extend the current period in order to maintain the current rulings and issue any further restrictions if necessary. The State of Emergency reduces the time needed to implement laws that aim to protect public health.
“You don’t need to be the Chief Health Officer to realise that this virus isn’t going to disappear next month, and that until we find a vaccine – we’ll be dealing with it for a while to come, in some form or another. That’s why we’re introducing changes to allow the State of Emergency to be extended up until mid-September 2021,” Andrews said.
The 12 month extension to the State of Emergency can be dismissed prior to its 12 month allowance based on the progress of COVID-19 in Victoria. The State of Emergency will continue to be declared by the government in four week blocks as it has been over the last six months.]
“We simply can’t have those important rules, and the legal framework that sits behind them, we can’t have that end [on September 13],” Andrews said.
Why does Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien dispute the extension?
Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien has announced that his party will not support Andrew’s in his bid for a 12 month extension to the current State of Emergency.
O’Brien believes that the extension to the State of Emergency is not in the best interest of the public health system, but instead is a “power grab” being administered by the Premier.
The Opposition Leader believes that if an extension if necessary it needs to be a smaller time period, with stricter ruling, and mechanisms for accountability in place.
“We understand that in a pandemic, sometimes there need to be restrictions. But there’s a reason why the State of Emergency, in law, is limited to six months,” O’Brien said.
____________________________________________________________________
Photo:Daniel Andrews, Melbourne International Games Week 2015 Launch by Timothy Bennett available HERE The image is available under a Creative Commons licence.
