Why the President of the Victorian Bar is so concerned about proposed pandemic laws

The President of the Victorian Bar says “he’s never seen anything like” the Andrews’ Government’s proposed pandemic laws.

And it’s got Christopher Blanden QC concerned.

Speaking with Neil Mitchell, Mr Blanden said the new laws would give the Premier unprecedented power with little to no checks and balances.

“It may well be that some of the things that this bill calls for are appropriate and necessary, but the difficulty is that what is being said to be the checks and balances simply aren’t there,” he explained.

“The overriding concern is that it effectively gives the health minister, in a practical sense, unlimited power to rule the state by decree for an indefinite period and without any effective judicial or parliamentary oversight – that is the real basic problem with it.”

And he said he couldn’t understand why the government was trying to “rush” the legislation through parliament.

“It’s difficult to think of a positive spin on why you would be pushing it through fast and be so concerned about, seemingly, avoiding any discussion about the pros and cons of the bill,” Mr Blanden said.

Press PLAY below to hear Christopher Blanden QC express his concerns

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