Victoria's state of emergency is due to expire in three weeks' time.
Premier Daniel Andrews says he'll be appealing to the Victorian Parliament to give his Government the power to extend the state of emergency for another year.
So what is the state of emergency, and will extending it meet political roadblocks in the Upper House?
What is the state of emergency and what does it do?
The state of emergency gives the Victorian Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton, extraordinary legal powers.
It allows him to issue legally enforceable public health directions, in this instance to prevent the spread of coronavirus, including rules about quarantine, face masks, and the number of people allowed in a pub.
The state of emergency also allows him and authorised officers — appointed by Department of Health and Human Services secretary Kym Peake — to detain any person "for the period reasonably necessary to eliminate or reduce a serious risk to public health".
They also have the power to restrict movement, search premises without a warrant and "give any other direction that the authorised officer considers is reasonably necessary to protect public health".
Perhaps the most dramatic demonstration of these powers during the pandemic so far has been the hard lockdown imposed on public housing towers at Flemington and North Melbourne last month.
Premier Daniel Andrews has described the state of emergency as the "legal instrument" that allows for rules about COVID-safe work plans, limits in cafes and restaurants, and the legal requirement for a person who tests positive to isolate at home for 14 days.
"Those sorts of rules are all a product of the state of emergency and the provisions within the Public Health and Wellbeing Act need to be changed to reflect the fact that whilst we'd all love this to be over by September 13, which is when the act says the state of emergency must end, that's just not going to be the case," he said.
There's a more detailed breakdown of the state of emergency here, and the legislation is outlined here.
What does the Government want to do?
The Public Health and Wellbeing Act allows for a state of emergency to run for a maximum of six months.
Victoria's state of emergency was first declared on March 16, and after several four-week extensions, is due to expire under the act on September 13.
That's why the Victorian Government wants to change the act, to allow it to extend the state of emergency for another 12 months, bringing it to 18 months in total.
The state of emergency would still have to be declared by the Government in four-week blocks, as it is now, and the Premier stressed he was not seeking an "unlimited" extension.
"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]," Mr Andrews said.
"It could be less than another 12 months, we certainly hope so.
He said there were a few other "minor changes", but the bill would be made available when it was ready.
The Government is expected to introduce the new bill into Parliament next week.
Opposition won't support 'power grab'
Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien has said his party won't be supporting Mr Andrews's bid for a year-long extension on the state of emergency.
"The Opposition — the Liberals and Nationals — will be opposing this power grab with everything we've got," he said.
He said if there needed to be an extension at all, it should have a strict, smaller time limit, and there must be accountability mechanisms 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," he said.
"Because no premier, no politician, should have that degree of power over the lives of Victorians indefinitely.
"We are seeing the case numbers falling, but Daniel Andrews wants to extend his power over Victorians. Why does that make any sense?"
Plan B if crossbenchers don't back bill
Labor has a majority in the Lower House, but in the Upper House, it holds just 17 of 40 seats, after losing disgraced former Labor MP Adem Somyurek to the crossbench following a branch-stacking scandal.
Eleven seats belong to the Liberals and Nationals, while the rest are shared among other parties and independents.
There is some frustration among crossbenchers over the Government's handling of the issue, after MPs only received a briefing on the bill after it was announced.
Independent MP Catherine Cumming is opposed to a blanket 12-month extension, while Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick and Transport Matters Party MP Rod Barton are yet to take a position.
Reason Party leader Fiona Patten said she hadn't yet seen the bill and the emergency powers were "incredibly broad".
"Let's be clear, the state of emergency is not just about enforcing mask-wearing, or enforcing COVID plans in workplaces," she told ABC Radio Melbourne.
"It expands the ability of the Government to make rules without [tabling] them in Parliament, without actually passing legislation."
Sustainable Australia Party MP Clifford Hayes is also unlikely to support the blanket extension.
But Justice Party founder Derryn Hinch tweeted that his party supported the plan.
The Greens will wait until they see the bill before deciding their position, but their Upper House MP, Samantha Ratnam, is currently on maternity leave.
Mr Andrews was asked what was at stake if he didn't have the support of the crossbench. He said there was no need to be "negative" and he would mount a well-argued case for the changes.
When asked if he had a "plan B", he said there were "different options" he could employ.
"The state of disaster sits above the state of emergency," he said.
"But again, the most logical, the most prudent thing to do, is to simply accept the fact that we have a need for rules … they're not about individual liberty, they're about public health. They're about protecting everyone."
Distinct from the state of emergency, the state of disaster is legislated under the Emergency Management Act, and gives police the power to enforce nightly curfews and the 5-kilometre travel limit.
It grants additional powers to Minister for Police and Emergency Services Lisa Neville to respond to the pandemic. The state of disaster was declared three weeks ago on August 2, and is due to end on September 2.
The Emergency Management Act says additional states of disaster may be declared "before, at or after the end" of a four-week period and makes no reference to a six-month limit.
Mr Andrews, a former health minister in the Brumby government, said the notion of a global pandemic was "probably not seen as something that was necessary to countenance" when the laws were written 15 years ago.
When asked whether he would consider supporting amendments to give Parliament a say in the monthly extension of a state of emergency, Mr Andrews suggested he would not.
"It's my sincere hope that there is a majority of people in both houses who say look, this is a fair thing, let's follow the advice, let's see this thing off."
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2020-08-24 07:50:00Z
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