Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews spent more than an hour this week in a Zoom hookup with regional journalists including Sunraysia Daily’s ALLAN MURPHY.
Mr Andrews fielded questions ranging from the timing of further easing of restrictions in regional Victoria to the future of face masks.
The following is an edited version of what Mr Andrews said during the press conference.
“Regional Victorians have done an amazing job at getting these numbers down and keeping them low and that of course makes all sorts of things possible that with higher case numbers just aren’t.
You have got to guard that with a degree of caution and follow the best advice.
The numbers are low, they are staying low, the strategy is clear and I think there will be some substantial relief for regional communities very soon.
Very soon, you’re going to end up with regional Victoria taking the second and the third step and being in a very different position to metropolitan Melbourne and that’s a recognition of the amazing work that regional Victoria has done.
Relief is not many, many weeks away — it might be very soon, depending on that data.
You have got a situation where average cases are at five — that’s about where we needed to be — maybe we’d prefer a little bit less, but there’s going to be some big changes in regional Victoria very soon, based on those case numbers.
That will mean that all of regional Victoria can move quite soon to, not just one step, but in fact take the third step as well and we’ll finish up with many, many businesses across different sectors open which are closed now, so there is a very specific treatment for regional Victoria.
Regional Victoria is ahead of Melbourne; regional Victoria will take more steps faster because it’s in a very different position.”
Cautious approach
“Even with numbers of testing quite high, but cases quite low, there is always more virus out there than you think.
It’s challenging, but it is literally a case-by-case process — one by one by one.
That’s where just being cautious, but working really hard side by side, that’s going to get us into a good place … and at least it’s encouraging the early signs that a couple of these steps can be taken together.
There has to be the caveat on it — it’s about the data and you can predict a way, but you have to be based on the evidence.
One of the most important things — even (with) the mildest of symptoms, get tested.
Constant surveillance and monitoring and the impacts of the opening up are that will become even more important then.
If we see the testing numbers tank, then we won’t have the confidence to be able to take that next step.
The best thing we can do is work as hard as we can, find it within ourselves to remain absolutely committed, not let our frustration get the better of us … seeing this off properly, staying the course despite how challenging it is, that’s how we deliver a 2021 that is infinitely better than the way 2020 has unfolded.
As every day passes and as we get closer and we make those steps, the second and, hopefully, the third step very close together — if not on the same day — then in the weeks after that that’s when we’ll start to see what the effect of that has been.”
Monitoring travellers
“The last thing we want is people to come from a higher-risk environment, mainly metro Melbourne … we don’t want any people travelling to regional Victoria unless they absolutely have to at this stage … that will change based on case numbers.
Victoria Police take that responsibility, together with the ADF and other authorised officers, very seriously.
It is causing significant inconvenience, obviously stopping so many vehicles, but it’s incredibly important.
Regional communities very jealously guard their low or no-virus status — it’s a point of pride, they have done an amazing job.
The numbers are low and we have got to keep them low and that will mean very few people from metro Melbourne travelling to regional Victoria.
We have seen some people, pretty selfish people, travelling in regional Victoria when clearly they didn’t need to.
We haven’t got an unlimited number of police to put on roadblocks, literally, everywhere.
It’s very challenging, but it’s best that we get one setting, we wait a little bit longer and get one setting where the risk is pretty well equal and that’s when you can be certain the movement within regional Victoria will be much safer.”
Wearing face masks
“I’m a bit of a hold-out on this. I think that there is very significant benefit for very low cost.
That’s not to say anyone enjoys wearing these masks and there are a whole lot of regional primary production settings where I would think they would be quite challenging.
Certainly, as the weather gets hotter they will be challenging also, but they do provide a level of protection that gives everybody greater confidence that we can be open and we can stay open.
There will be medical advice, there will be the experts who will have a view about that.
It could be that those settings change, but while it is inconvenient the benefit is a particularly substantial one, so I think they are going to be a feature, they are going to be a feature of COVID-normal … I think, for quite some time.
Whether that lasts months or longer we will probably have to be guided by case numbers, we’d have to be guided by what the experts told us.”
Economic recovery
“There’s a whole range of options — sea change, tree change — I think we’re going to see more people making those choices.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing for regional areas — the more diverse regional economies are the stronger.
The more non-rainfall-dependent industry and enterprise you have, the better off you are — that’s not a chip against ag or anything like that, it’s just a fact.
There will be announcements made in the lead-up to the budget … in a couple of months’ time — it will be the biggest program of stimulus and economic investment that this state has ever seen.
There is an enormous amount of work going on to make sure we’ve got a really big package of investment to focus on skills, focus on trying to make sure that we make good decisions fast for the purposes of business development investment.
It’s going to be a package that I think will be well received in metro Melbourne and in regional Victoria.
We understand the damage has been done across the board and the repair work will need to be done across the board as well.”
