Tuesday, 17 March 2020

Questions without notice and ministers statements

COVID-19

Mr M O’BRIEN (Malvern—Leader of the Opposition) (12:09): My question is to the Premier. The Premier has stated that it is not a matter of if schools will close due to the coronavirus but when. Premier, what is the criteria that your government is using that will trigger the closure of all Victorian schools?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I have just warned the house about interjections. This is a serious matter, a legitimate question. I ask the Premier to address the house.

Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (12:10): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. In the first instance there is a protocol that operates at any Victorian school regardless of who runs the school—private, denominational or a public school. There is a protocol that relates to any school where there is a positive test or where there has been close contact between someone who has tested positive and that school. It is that protocol that has seen, for instance, Toorak Primary School close today and has seen a number of other schools close in recent weeks. That protocol, in direct answer to the Leader of the Opposition’s question, was developed by the Victorian chief health officer. That protocol is also consistent with the determinations of the collective—that is, all chief health officers and the commonwealth chief medical officer, Professor Brendan Murphy.

The second point to make is in relation to a broader approach to schools, criteria or advice to take further action beyond closing a specific school with a specific positive case or close contacts thereof, that will be on advice, and that is a dynamic set of circumstances. That may change. In fact it will, I think, on the advice of our experts, need to change at a point in time. When that time comes it will not be for me or for anyone else who is not clinically trained to make that judgement for the whole system. That will be a judgement that is made appropriately by those who have statutory obligations, years of clinical training and lived experience and a very acute appreciation of the epidemiology of this virus globally and how it is presenting in different groups of people—children, young people—and in different places across our state and indeed across the globe. In other words, those criteria to this point have been determined by experts; they will continue to be determined by experts, as is appropriate.

Mr M O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, I appreciate the Premier’s answer, but the question is: what is the criteria that the government—and I say the government broadly, including the chief health officer—is using that will trigger the closure of all Victorian schools? The house and the community are after some clarity in terms of what is the criteria that is being used that will determine at some future point if all schools have to close. I would ask the Premier to answer that question: what is the criteria?

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier has been relevant to the question asked. I understand the genuine interest in the answer, but I have just warned the house about repeating the question through a point of order.

Mr ANDREWS: For all public health responses, all health responses, the first criteria is safety. The next criteria is about being proportionate to the risks that you face. The third criteria is having due regard for the consequences of actions you might take or advice you might give. I think it is pretty clear that the chief health officer and many others have made the point. Their advice to me—their advice to all first ministers, all premiers and the Prime Minister—is that closing schools en masse at this point in time might do more harm than good. So that is part of the criteria.

These judgements are made by public health experts. I will have no hesitation in following that advice if it changes, and it seems certain that it will at some point. I understand that I have organised—in fact I can confirm that I have organised—a briefing for various members opposite I think at about 5 o’clock today and a full briefing at 5.30 pm by one of the deputy chief health officers. (Time expired)

Mr M O’BRIEN (Malvern—Leader of the Opposition) (12:14): I ask the Premier: what arrangements are the government putting in place to ensure that frontline health workers who have school-aged children will still be able to attend work when schools have closed?

Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (12:14): I just want to stress again for anybody who might be watching these proceedings that no decision to close schools en masse has been made. That may be something that we have to deal with. Some would say it is a certainty, but Andrew Crisp, the emergency management commissioner—

And part of stepping this up to the state control centre and part of the emergency declaration that I made yesterday and other arrangements put in place last week mean that all powers that are available, all consistency and central coordination that is required are being brought to bear on that task, as outlined by the Leader of the Opposition, and many other tasks. It will be a key challenge. Child care, general health—there will be many, many challenges that will see critical staff absent from their place of work. That is going to be a big, big challenge for us, and an enormous amount of planning is going on right now. That no doubt will be one of the many topics that will be covered in the briefing provided to the Leader of the Opposition later today and as often as he sees fit to seek such a briefing.