Patrick Durkin BOSS Deputy editor
A powerful group of retired judges and leading QCs has written to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews expressing alarm over proposed laws giving designated officers power to arrest anyone suspected of breaching COVID-19 rules.
The COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) and Other Acts Amendment Bill passed the lower house of Victoria’s Parliament on Friday, but the retired judges and QCs warn it would be “unprecedented, excessive and open to abuse”…
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Crossbench MP Fiona Patten, who supported the six-month extension of emergency powers granted to Mr Andrews in August after opposing the original 12-month proposal, said her Reason Party would oppose the Omnibus Bill after being inundated with public concerns.
“It is quite extraordinary,” she told the Financial Review. “They could detain a person if they think that person is likely to fail to comply. There are no time frames or oversight.”
Read the full article on the Financial Review website.
