The Victorian government introduced a bill that would give pandemic management discretion to the state’s premier and health minister. The bill would give the premier nearly full authority to declare a pandemic, with no limits to the duration. The health minister would then have the power to announce any pandemic orders the minister believes are “reasonably necessary” to protect public health. This would be a departure from the current system, where the chief health officer, an unelected official, has authority over these matters.

The bill’s stated intention is to provide “a contemporary, fit-for-purpose regulatory scheme with the appropriate powers and checks and balances to protect the Victorian community from the dangers posed by pandemic diseases or diseases of pandemic potential.”

Following the bill’s announcement Wednesday, the Victoria Bar created a strong backlash, calling it the “biggest challenge to the rule of law” in Victoria in decades. Christopher Blanden, president of the Bar, stated in a release that although the bill claims the group was consulted, this was merely a 45-minute Microsoft Teams meeting where the broad issue of the pandemic declaration was raised. The state never gave the Victoria Bar a draft, which is the traditional procedure.

The Victoria Bar’s main issue is that the scope of the minister’s power would be too broad, as the bill allows for any orders the minister believes are “reasonably necessary.” Because this is subjective, orders likely couldn’t be challenged at the Supreme Court. Also, Parliament could stop an order only if it breached the state’s human rights act. The Victoria Bar believes the bill would remove any checks and balances from pandemic management.

Blanden called for a discussion on the provisions of the bill before it moves forward.