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Lockdown of Victoria’s public housing towers during COVID crisis breached human rights, ombudsman finds
The Victorian Government did not properly consider the human rights of the residents in nine public housing towers in Melbourne before imposing an immediate lockdown to prevent a coronavirus outbreak with “explosive potential” from taking hold, a report by the Victorian Ombudsman says.
Key points:
- The report found public health officials thought the towers would be locked down the following day, not immediately
- Deborah Glass said the decision breached the human rights of residents and they were entitled to an apology
- She said the decision was made at a Crisis Council of Cabinet meeting earlier that day
An investigation the states’s ombudsman, Deborah Glass, said health officials had agreed to the need for a lockdown on July 4, and they…
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