VCAT rules that the Victorian government must release the documents underpinning the lockdown decision

The Victorian government will be forced to publicly release thousands of pages of secret briefings on the state’s Covid-19 lockdowns after a nearly four-year freedom of information (FOI) fight.

This week the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) ruled that the documents were of high public interest and could amount to up to around 115 briefs or 6,900 pages.

These briefings have played a key role in many decisions regarding lockdowns, including the decision to close children’s playgrounds on August 16, 2021.

“It shouldn’t have happened”: Opposition leader

Liberal MP David Davis is behind the protracted public information fight with the Department of Health, but he was unavailable to talk on Saturday.

However, Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto welcomed VCAT’s decision to force the government to release information documents.

Pesutto said Victorians, and especially businesses, had a right to know the details of why the state was closed for such a long period.

“In the interests of transparency and accountability, the government should have simply advised the Victorian people on the basis of decisions that actually had a profound impact on people’s lives and their rights.”

The roll call rose into the air

Government Minister Anthony Carbines said it was up to the Ministry of Health to decide whether a VCAT decision would be submitted.

“The government has worked very hard through the Covid-19 pandemic to put public safety and health first,” Carbines said.

According to VCAT documents, the government opposed the public information request on the grounds that it would divert critical resources from the health department.

The department’s Michael Cain said the total processing time could be up to 74 business weeks and, conservatively, cost tens of thousands of dollars, while the department’s confidential information unit was struggling with a 25 percent staff reduction.

Meanwhile, Jeroen Weimar, then deputy secretary of the department, estimated in October 2021 that this process could take much longer and amount to up to 208 working weeks. The discrepancy could not be explained, but Davis called Weimar’s estimate “exaggerated” and “absurd.”

The Judicial Policy Unit must process FOI requests

On Thursday, Vice-President Judge Caitlin English said she was not satisfied that the work involved in processing the public information request would “materially and unreasonably divert the agency’s (Department of Health) resources from its other activities.”

Judge English ruled that the department would consider Mr Davis’ four requests under the FOI Act.

On Saturday, Pesutto said that “one can only suspect that the government did not want to do this because its reasoning could have been exposed as flawed – it could have demonstrated deficiencies in the processes involved in making important decisions.”

Meanwhile, Pesutto said that while a public health response is always required, that does not mean people should be denied information about issues that directly impact their rights and livelihoods.

“People died unnecessarily. We know that following the hotel quarantine, many businesses closed unnecessarily due to lockdown orders that prevented them from operating. People have a right to know.”

In October 2021, the state government was ordered to release details of confidential lockdown briefings regarding the five-day lockdown in February, after the state privacy commission found there was significant public interest.

At the time, Assistant Commissioner for Public Access Joanne Kummrow found a key document containing “important information about the Victorian Government’s response to Covid-19, including the rationale for issuing public health orders”.