Wednesday, 15 September 2021


Adjournment

COVID-19


COVID-19

 Mr FINN (Western Metropolitan) (14:05): (1508) I wish to raise a matter for the attention of the Minister for Health, so I shall speak slowly. There has been a great deal of speculation of recent times about what could be described as a hard lockdown, a radical hard lockdown, in parts of Melbourne. What I am concerned about is that there may well be this radical hard lockdown in the City of Hume. Now, there are parts of the City of Hume which have a lot of the Wuhan virus—at Roxburgh Park and Craigieburn they seem to have it prevalent—but there are also parts of Hume, such as Sunbury, such as Bulla, such as Gladstone Park and Tullamarine, that do not have it at all. It would be an act of folly if we were to lock everybody down in the City of Hume because a couple of places had more of the virus than others, keeping in mind of course that the people of Sunbury do not even want to be in Hume. The only reason they are in Hume is that this government broke its promise to them in the last term of government. They wanted to get out of Hume, and given half a chance they will still do that. But what I am asking the minister to do is to provide a guarantee to the people of Sunbury, Bulla, Gladstone Park and Tullamarine that they will not be included in any hard lockdown of the City of Hume that would prevent people from attending medical clinics and would prevent people from attending supermarkets and so forth. It is lunacy in my view, but unfortunately this government is renowned for that, and I am a bit concerned that when these rumours circulate, generally speaking, the next day they become fact. So I ask the minister to give that guarantee.