LONG Thread:
The Coates Inquiry highlights a number of issues & failings in the Victorian Hotel Quarantine program. Many of these are within the Government & the Hotel Quarantine operation itself. This contributed to the start of Victoria’s large second wave of COVID infections.

Many people are accountable and to blame, the program should have had better oversight and been reviewed more thoroughly & in hindsight different decisions would be made.
What’s important is that we learn from this & ensure these issues NEVER happen again, in Vic or elsewhere.

However, those who seem obsessed with who hired security guards (that’s you @MichaelOBrienMP, @TimSmithMP , Guy) as the single cause of the 2nd wave are misguided & clearly STILL don’t understand the multiple factorial nature of the pandemic. Thank God you aren’t in charge.

Vic wouldn’t have had to make the choice, if Fed Gov had a plan. They didn’t. They lumped quarantine onto states, without any guidance. Who’s to blame? @ScottMorrisonMP?

The Police could have provided security, but they requested not to. In hindsight, they probably should have.

The guards did a poor job in Vic, regardless of who hired them, there were failing in training & taking due care not to spread the virus. Casualisation of the workforce (a national issue) enhanced the ability of the virus to spread quickly. Other states used them without issues.

Once COVID escaped @MichaelObrienMP & his collection of incompetent MPs did everything they could to create division & mistrust among Vic public & undermined health advice. This absolutely contributed to complacency & spread of COVID. They put politics ahead of the people of Vic.

At no point did Opposition, including Shadow Health Minister @georgiecrozier present any good/meaningful alternative ideas, or show signs they would work with the Gov to help Victorians during the crisis. Instead choosing to oppose almost everything, impacting our COVID effort.

COVID spread to Aged Care & was poorly managed. Specifically,in Fed Aged Care where some continue to pretend the neglect (as per the Royal Commission) didn't contribute to so many infections/deaths occurring.A disgraceful mark on our Fed Gov’s care of the elderly @richardmcolbeck

Inadequate PPE, masks & fit testing lead to HUGE numbers of HCW infections, as did failures of administration in larger health care settings. This isn't good enough & puts all of us at risk if our HCW workforce is ill or furloughed. We MUST do better & aim for 0 HCW infections.

The public worked hard to get the virus under control, (thank you all)but there were also clear examples of people ignoring the rules & causing further spread. As Victorians we are not immune to criticism ourselves & we need to do better to protect each other, and the vulnerable.

Breaches in SA + subsequent outbreak, as well as 3 recent separate breaches/infections in NSW HQ & ongoing outbreak shows that unfortunately infections within the programs are still occurring.
This means that we still have a lot left to learn & we aren’t learning fast enough.

The 2nd Wave in Vic was a nightmare for everyone, we need to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
I suggest we all work with those who are trying to fix the problems & ignore those who are part of the problem & aren't putting our needs first.
#AusPol #SpringSt #Covid19vic #COVID19