New move could gift Premier Daniel Andrews unprecedented power (Australia)

Daniel Andrews would wield unprecedented power to declare pandemics and enforce emergency laws under legislation set to replace Victoria’s controversial state of emergency framework.

Under legislation to go before parliament as early as Tuesday, the Premier would have the power to make a pandemic declaration following consultation with the chief health officer, and extend it in three-month blocks for as long as he considered it necessary.

The state’s chief health officer would be stripped of the ability to make special orders, with that power to be transferred to the health minister.

It would give the government virtually unlimited capacity to restrict movement, ban public gatherings, close businesses or order quarantine requirements as required.

The Herald Sun understands the power to declare a pandemic would exist even if there had been no cases of a specific disease in Victoria for a period of time.

Key crossbenchers were briefed on Monday about the proposed laws, which the government hopes to have in place by December when the current state of emergency provisions expire.

Victoria has been subject to emergency laws since March last year when a four-week State of Emergency was announced by Mr Andrews and former health minister Jenny Mikakos.

The extraordinary move gave the state government sweeping powers to restrict movement, shut down mass gatherings and require returned overseas travellers to self-isolate.

It also facilitated the implementation of the state’s hotel quarantine program and issuing orders for community lockdowns and mask wearing.

Under current legislation the health minister, on the advice of the chief health officer – currently Brett Sutton – can declare a state of emergency arising out of any circumstances deemed a serious risk to public health.

This is the fight, conservatives in Victoria have been gearing up for. And unfortunately it's a fight that has been made ten times harder that it should have been by the hysterical misinformation and exaggerations that has at times been spread about what is actually going on in Victoria and Australia in general, including unfortunately at times, here on Freerepublic.

Because compared to the lies, misinformation, and exaggerations, this power grab by Daniel Andrews doesn't sound as bad as it is. A lot of people will say "Well, all this type of stuff has already been happening, so why are you only worried now." No, that's the problem. It hasn't been anywhere near as bad as people have been trying to claim, so this is actually much worse. But it's been made so hard for us to make that case now because we have had to waste so much effort dealing with lies about MARTIAL LAW IN AUSTRALIA and similar crap like that.

Somebody, somewhere, seems to have decided that it's important for Americans to be convinced that one of their closest allies has been turned into some sort of fascist state and so many Americans have swallowed that type of propaganda wholesale.

I've seen people on Fox News asking if America should invade Australia to save it - it's one of the most stupid things I've seen in my life and I would have expected a news service like that to be asking which country has a large intelligence and propaganda service that might be trying to split Australia and the United States diplomatically right now? The answer really isn't that difficult.

Anyway - this is the fight we've been getting ready for here politically. Are we going to win? I honestly don't know. I'm pessimistic, I'm afraid. Andrews has an unassailable majority in the lower house of the Victorian Parliament, and in the upper house the balance of power is held by people from parties like the Greens, the Animal Justice Party, the Reason Party (used to be called the Sex Party - seriously, that was their name)... they are not all left wing crazies, but enough of them are, and some of them are so naive politically...

It could have been easier - if we hadn't had to be fighting overwrought manipulated conservatives as well as the real enemy.

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