Public housing residents banned from leaving their buildings are confused, frustrated and fed-up with this hard lockdown by the Andrews Labor Government.
Police resources are stretched, with reports there are not always police on every floor. If residents inside the towers are not getting the support they need from the Andrews government and its agencies, then they will be supporting each other through tough times, possibly going from unit to unit, defeating the objective of a hard lockdown.
We are concerned that 3000 Victorians have been left without basic human needs. Food supplies have been inadequate, with residents reporting inedible or expired food left on their doorsteps, without even a knock on the door to let them know it was there.
A severe lack of communication to residents has many fearful and unaware of what’s actually happening, and why they have been deprived of their liberty.
Daniel Andrews should have had a plan in place but clearly he didn’t. You would have thought his Labor Government would have already had procedures for a break out in housing commission estates given they were aware last week of COVID-19 cases in public housing, and what has happened overseas in high-density towers like this.
It’s clear Andrews was more worried about covering up his hotel quarantine fiasco, than creating a plan to assist Victoria’s most vulnerable.
We want to know what the Andrews Labor Government will do next. Will they be separating those who test positive to COVID-19, to help stop the spread? Will Daniel Andrews be transparent and reveal his plan to protect these residents, who have done nothing wrong?
One thing the Premier did do, was hire 35 management consultants to help co-ordinate his COVID-19 response, at the cost of almost $3.5 million to taxpayers, in just four months! Lot of good that did.
Comments attributable to Shadow Minister for Housing, Tim Smith:
“Daniel Andrews knew coronavirus would spread like wildfire in high-density apartment towers. It defies belief no planning was undertaken, like in aged care facilities, if there was an outbreak in these towers.
“This second wave in Victoria has been caused by Labor’s hotel quarantine fiasco. Not one minister has lost their job over that debacle which is the reason Victoria is now the laughing stock of the nation.
“The 3000 residents of the towers in Flemington and North Melbourne who are virtually under house arrest are paying for Daniel Andrews catastrophically poor leadership.”
