Twelve months (supposedly*) after starting their investigation, WorkSafe Victoria is finally getting help from the Victorian Department of Public Prosecutions.
According to the Herald Sun, the WorkSafe Victoria probe into the Andrews Government’s deadly hotel quarantine * fiasco is being referred the Office of Public Prosecutions Victoria to “test” whether criminal charges should be laid.
The possibly self initiated investigation was supplemented by a formal complaint made by Ken Phillips, director of Self Employed Australia.
That complaint, as permitted under Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, listed 20 individuals who WorkSafe should investigate for criminal prosecutions for breaching sections of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic).
Among those individuals listed are:
Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews
Former Minister for Health, Jenny Mikakos
Former Minister for Police Emergency Services, Lisa Neville
Former Secretary, Department of Premier and Cabinet, Chris Eccles
Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Shane Patton
Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton
To date, WorkSafe has been unable to disclose whether prosecutions will be launched against these individuals due to the investigation being complex, involving multiple duty holders across multiple workplaces.
In an article for The Spectator, Mr Phillips does raise an interesting point that it will be up to the “justice system” to sort out whether the COVID related deaths should fall under Victoria’s Industrial Manslaughter laws.
Either way, the question that the corporate media should be asking and isn’t, is why haven’t the Premier, and others named in the SEA complaint stood down from their respective roles, pending the outcome of the investigations.
And, why aren’t they continually asking questions about the investigation(s)?
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels