Today, Premier Daniel Andrews announced that he would extend the state of emergency for an additional 12 months. This is on top of the six months that we have already endured, since the state of emergency was first announced in March.
If the legislation passes, that would bring the total time for Victoria’s state of emergency to 18-months. However, this is not confirmed yet and still needs to be voted on by the Victorian Parliament.
But what exactly is a state of emergency and how will it affect Victorians in the coming months?
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the state of emergency provides Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton with “additional powers to issue directions to help contain the spread of coronavirus and keep Victorians safe.”
The declaration is made under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 and gives the state government a range of powers including: mandatory face coverings, requiring workplaces to have a COVIDSafe Plan and the current and past restrictions that have helped slow the spread of the virus.
It also ensures public health risk powers can be exercised – for example, requiring positive cases to isolate.
So does this mean we’re in lockdown for another year?
Yes and no. The state of emergency is what gives Brett Sutton the power to enforce a lockdown, so if it’s necessary, there will be another one.
However, these restrictions won’t be like the current curfew in place but will be “very simple rules” that can be part of our daily life, according to the Premier.
Victoria’s state of emergency is set to expire on September 13. Premier Daniel Andrews announced today legislation to allow it to be extended for a further 12 months. pic.twitter.com/3vrtOWE8Hx
— SBS News (@SBSNews) August 24, 2020
How is this different to the state of disaster and why do we need both?
We are currently in both a state of disaster and a state of emergency. The state of emergency was declared back in March when the pandemic first hit. The state of disaster was declared on August 2 and is due to end on September 2.
Under the Emergency Management Act, a state of disaster can be declared if the Premier is satisfied an emergency “constitutes a significant and widespread danger to life or property in Victoria, which includes a plague or epidemic.”
It allows police to enforce rules such as restricting the nightly 8pm to 5am curfew and restrict people from travelling beyond the 5 kilometre radius around their home.
It also gives authorities the ability to suspend acts of parliament and take possession of properties. It’s stricter than a state of emergency and if a state of emergency is extended, those same rules won’t apply.
So basically, a state of emergency is like – “oh shit this is bad”. Then a state of disaster is like – “oh shit this is reallllllyyyyy bad”. It’s kind of like a state of emergency is an after-school detention and a state of disaster is a suspension.
Both help to enforce different rules – just like how a detention and suspension are both punishments but also involve different rules and structures.
What powers have we seen exercised under the state of emergency?
Some powers that we have already seen exercised by the state are:
- Stay at home; except to buy food and other goods, exercise and recreation, caregiving, work or study, or in an emergency
- Wear a face covering (e.g. mask) when you leave the home for one of the above reasons
- Restrict certain activities and businesses including; sport and exercise, community services, cafes and restaurants, shopping and retail, religion and ceremony, and entertainment and culture
- Restrict visits to hospitals and aged care centres
- Detain anyone who has arrived in Australia from overseas in a hotel for 14 days
- Limit the movement of anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 and their close contacts
When will it expire?
Since first being introduced in March 2020, the state of emergency has been extended six times, but under current legislation it can only remain in place for a total of six months.
That is unless an amendment is made to the legislation to extend it (which is what is currently happening).
However, Andrews has reiterated that extending it is not something that they wanted to enforce, and he hopes that there will be a vaccine before the end of the 12 months.
What if we find a vaccine before then?
According to Andrews, “A vaccine would be really the only thing that might get you to a place where you didn’t need Brett [Sutton] making orders of one kind or another.”
That would mean that if a vaccine was created and dispensed across the country, that the state of emergency would no longer be necessary.
What about my *coughs* freedom?
Well, we deserve the freedom to be healthy and live a long and happy life don’t we? So, unfortunately until we find a vaccine these restrictions will have to stay in place in order to protect us from the virus. Then after that it’s as many fat seshes at Revs as we want.
