Business groups urge caution over Victoria’s Pandemic Bill

The Australian Industries Group said in a statement that while businesses are supportive of the need to update legislation for government management of future pandemics there were six matters about which they had concerns.

The Victorian Head of Ai Group, Tim Piper and the VCCI chief executive Paul Guerra called on the government to recognise the apolitical nature of many of the comments and criticisms and consider how the bill will be improved.

“There are six matters of most concern to us, some more significant than others. We don’t believe the Government should have the right to make a three-month pandemic declaration – it should be for a shorter period; the definition of authorised officers needs further clarification and certainty; there needs to be clarity and certainty as to who defines a pandemic; there needs to be much better public transparency with the health advice being given to government; while the Government has acknowledged the need for business to be included on the advisory group it is not yet included in the legislation and given the power being granted to the Premier and the Health Minister, they must not be the same person,” Mr Guerra and Mr Piper said in a joint statement.

“This legislation is designed for the long term, not just the current pandemic. That is why all political parties should consider this proposal in a bi-partisan way and think about the consequences of the legislation in another era. This is not about the current administration and current pandemic. It needs to be foolproof and not be open to abuse by any future Premier, Minister or Government.”

Mr Piper and the VCCI CEO Mr Guerra said the industry believes the bill is important but had “serious issues the Government needs to consider before seeking to push their current proposals through the Victorian Legislative Council”.

Both Ai Group and VCCI believe the government needs to make sensible changes to ensure Victorians can feel at ease should there ever be the need to use the legislation.