VIC Government (Inquiry into COVID-19 response) – Individual Submissions

“Irreparably damaging the lives of millions”

Locking down a healthy population is not the way to protect the elderly & vulnerable.

School Teacher: Toni Steinbergs – Gov handling is a gross over-reaction irreparably damaging the lives of millions of Victorians. Inaccurate PCR test. Hotel Quarantine fiasco. Challenges locking down a healthy population is not the way to protect the elderly & vulnerable. Caged 6 million Victorians because of unreliable PCR tests. Challenges locking down regional VIC with no cases. Students kept at home. No Scientific data or medical research that children were at risk.

I have written dozens of letters this year consistently expressing my disgust and disappointment with the government’s handling of the health crisis due to COVID-19. I have begged for unfair and unjust legislation not to be passed- but the government passed it anyway. I have deep concerns about the government’s response to the COVID 19 Pandemic, which should not be condoned, but rather condemned as a gross-over reaction which has irreparably damaged the lives, livelihoods, and well-being of millions of Victorians. This government’s decisions have done far more damage than even the disease could have if it was well-managed.

Firstly, according to world data, the pandemic only qualifies as a pandemic because the definition was changed recently to exclude the requirement for significant harm and death rates, to only have to be a disease that is affecting several countries. In Australia, less than 1000 people (27 Oct- 905 listed) had coronavirus listed as the cause of death, however, even this is inaccurate as those who died WITH coronavirus (even though they did not die of respiratory symptoms) were listed, rather than those whose death could be confirmed by a laboratory test or post-mortem that COVID was the significant cause of death. We have been subject to the hysteria of case numbers when even that data is manufactured.

The PCR test was never designed to specifically detect COVID-19. Yet, even knowing how inaccurate it was, a positive test result was never then confirmed by a laboratory, as the seasonal flu is required to be before it was counted.

Furthermore, a person who tested positive may never have experienced any symptoms, and for all intents and purposes, was otherwise healthy. For this, the government shut down the economy, and caused irreparable damage to lives and livelihoods.

Secondly, the March 10 Pandemic plan was NOT followed. I am an executive in charge of risk management for the school at which I am Deputy Principal. Recently we had a child fall off his bike and suffer a concussion on our bike track. When Worksafe rightly investigated, we had to produce our risk management document and prove that we had followed it to the letter as it was a legally enforceable document. Yet, the Victorian government did not follow its pandemic risk management plan.

The consequence is the Hotel Quarantine fiasco which was the sole cause of the ‘second wave’. The Premier is the Head of the Victorian Government and therefore the executive who must be held accountable for not following his risk management plan.

Thirdly, COVID-19 data overwhelmingly proved that the most susceptible and at-risk were the elderly and those with co-morbid conditions. These are the people who should have been protected. Not by locking down a healthy population, but by taking carefully considered risk-managed precautions to prevent the infection of the vulnerable. Any clear-thinking medical professional would tell you that you quarantine the sick, not the healthy. Yet this government caged six million Victorians because of a few thousand unreliable positive PCR tests.

Fourthly, the Victorian government’s reaction to increased positive PCR test results was to punish the entire Victorian community- even those where there were no ‘cases’ recorded, such as in regional Victoria. Businesses were shut down, against their constitutional rights to earn a living. According to Chapter V Section 109- any State Law is subject to the Constitution and if in breach, is invalid. Thus the emergency powers and the omnibus bill to reduce people’s freedoms including freedom of speech (protesting the government’s poor decisions was not permitted), freedom of movement (both within and between states), forcibly bankrupting otherwise viable businesses by closing them down and subjecting them to exorbitant fines). These rights are protected and to forcibly remove them, as I understand it, is constitutionally illegal.

Yet the government did it anyway.

The side effect of this is the severe economic and mental health crisis leading to increased suicides. I know of several cases of suicide caused solely by the government’s decisions.

Further, students were kept at home and parents asked to cope with unreasonable expectations to become the facilitators of their children’s education. There was no scientific data or medical research that said that children were at risk, yet schools were shut down. Parents (those who still had a job) had to work from home, and manage student learning. Teachers train for four years to learn the intricacies of educating children, yet parents had to do it in 24 hours. The result of this was insecurity, inability to properly deliver the curriculum, and even now that all students have returned, severe mental anguish, and a rise in students suffering anxiety about coming to school again. Many students did no work at all for six months and now will suffer for years as teachers try to build up their learning progress.

As an aside, even when finally allowed to have some year levels return in the second week of Term 4, within one hour of the announcement, our Principal received a call from Union thugs threatening legal action if we dared consider allowing any extra students to return. This seemed to be a government-backed response to deter schools from acting with common sense and allowing more students to return. How else could the union have called before we had even heard the announcement in the Premier’s press conference? This was clearly more government-sanctioned bullying tactics, as with the police enforcing the CHO directives.

The government response to use the police force to bully, intimidate, harass, and subject law-abiding citizens to brutal arrest, fines, and belittling (such as being called tin-foil hat wearers) if they disagreed with the Premier or if they disobeyed the chief Health officer’s unscientific and illegal directions. I witnessed on social media literally hundreds of people being fined, brutally arrested, and subject to intimidation for not wearing a mask, even after they had declared they had an exemption, as well as for moving outside the 5km limit, suggesting people protest against the government (even though the BLM movement was allowed to protest under the exact same restrictions), among other things.

Yes, this government should be held accountable- for the 800+ deaths they said were caused by COVID as they were directly attributable to the government’s mishandling of quarantine. They should be held accountable for the thousands of businesses they closed down unnecessarily. They should be held accountable for the rise in mental health issues and resulting suicides. They should be held accountable for causing the unemployment of thousands and putting this state into an economic crisis.

I urge your committee to stop this government from doing any more damage and to prevent any future government from ever again being subjected to the unfettered and unrestrained rules on a whim like those that Premier Daniel Andrews and Professor Brett Sutton have enforced.

(Note: her Original letter says “PCP” tests, I am going to assume she meant “PCR” and have edited PCP to say PCR – Penny)

Intel & Gov’t Advisors

Do governments know how to analyse their own data?

Melissa Murphy-Webster – Interpretation of government’s own data to be questioned?

I am concerned that the data that is being used for assessment of the moving out of lock down or even allowing a lock down in the first place is not being interpreted correctly.

Government datasets tell a different story of the covid situation than what is being disseminated via the media and Andrews Government.

The Andrews Government needs to speak with professional scientist, doctors and analyst to remedy the situation they have created.

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• Melissa Murphy-Webster 1.16 MB
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“This is Torture, Deluded, Inhumane”

Caused unimaginable harm to the minds of the people.

Health officers completely deluded. Taken away our liberties and freedoms under the assertion we are to blame for COVID deaths. Liars. Forced communities to believe they are unsafe with neighbours, friends, family. Taken children away from their peers. Forced us to believe we are not safe outside of our home. Caused unimaginable harm to the minds of the people. This is torture, deluded, inhumane. The Response of locking people in their homes, propagating fear, and dismantling of our freedoms, institutions and collective rights is constitutionally unlawful – SHAME ON YOU ALL PDF1 | PDF2

To all of you who believe that sequestering your constituents in the name of health offers protection from harm ‐ you are completely deluded. You have caused great harm ‐ and those of you who are medical professionals you have made an OATH TO’ DO NO HARM’. LIARS.

You have taken away our liberties and freedoms under the assertion that we are to blame for the COVID19 deaths. LIARS.

You have forced communities to believe that they are unsafe with neighbours, friends even family. LIARS.

You have manipulated our minds and lives with falsehoods and untruths about health and the human system. LIARS.

You have taken our children away from their peers and schooling in the name of COVID 19. LIARS.

You have forced us to believe that we are not safe outside in the name of COVID19. LIARS.

You have caused unimaginable harm to the minds of the people in this state ‐ of FEAR and you are using FEAR as a tool to keep us locked up. LIARS.

Our society is an elegant system not a machine. When will you learn?
This is torture, it is deluded, it is inhumane.
My health is strong regardless of your attacks on my liberty. I know what is true and what is real ‐ and I know that COVID19 is a false banner for all of this awful power grabbing and control.

I will hold sacred my health and wellbeing and I will maintain my integrity ‐ and shine for my community a light of truth.
You will be held to account ‐ FOR YOUR LIES.

“Draconian Rules. End this madness.”

2.7 million people in psychological distress. It is a mental health pandemic.

Samuel Dales – draconian rules doesn’t match risks. Asymptomatic Cases. Can’t trust numbers. Integrity of PCR Test. Locking down an entire society and it’s devastating effects on communities. Suicides, medical treatments, unable to visit dying family members. Little to no science on masks providing more than a 0.3% risk. Division of communities. Fines & Penalties disproportionate to offence. Dramatic and heavy-handed actions of police. It is a mental health pandemic. Please end this madness.

The Victorian government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has had a huge effect on our family. The rules have been strict and draconian, and completely disproportionate with the risk.

There has been little to no information provided on the advice that the government has received to impose these measures. We are only told that the information does exist and has been provided by health professionals. All the while, there is clear information coming to the surface that appears to directly contradict the actions of the Victorian government.

The risk is simply not the same for everyone. Not once has this been acknowledged by the Victorian government, or an actual plan put in place to manage the differing risks across the community. As per the information provided by BMJ Global Health (https://gh.bmj.com/content/bmjgh/5/9/e003094.full.pdf), the fatality rate for members of our family range between 0.0003% to 0.0098%.

Whilst I am concerned by the by the virus and the side effects associated with it, I believe this to be an acceptable risk for us to continue living our lives within the community. We are happy to manage our own risk in relation to community transmission, by using common sense and a heightened degree of caution.

I do no find the strict lockdown of an entire state for at least 8 months to be a proportionate or effective response to this risk.

Whilst the risk is low for our family, I understand that the risk in inflated for those who are immuno-compromised, and that the risk increases the older that people are. However, since March of 2020, I am not aware of one single initiative or discussion in parliament, to effectively manage the risk of the vulnerable, whilst maintaining some level of decency for the rest of society. This issue should be at the forefront of every discussion. It has not even been mentioned.

At the start of the pandemic, we were told that the virus was extremely deadly and contagious.

However, in November 2020, the Victorian Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton, was quoted as saying: “75% of all cases don’t pass it onto anyone else, & about 30% of all cases drive transmission to all other close contacts.” So on top of the fact that the risk is very low to my family, I’m now being told that ¾ of cases are simply not contagious.

This is in stark contrast to many of Mr. Sutton’s previous comments. However, the government has not changed it’s narrative at all.

That is that coronavirus is the worst thing in the world that will kill everyone if we don’t shut down everything indefinitely. This is reinforced by a recent article in nature magazine (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-19802- w), that clearly states “The citywide nucleic acid screening of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Wuhan recruited nearly 10 million people, and found no newly confirmed cases with COVID-19.

The detection rate of asymptomatic positive cases was very low, and there was no evidence of transmission from asymptomatic positive persons to traced close contacts.

There were no asymptomatic positive cases in 96.4% of the residential communities.” “In the present study, virus culture was carried out on samples from asymptomatic positive cases, and found no viable SARS-CoV-2 virus.

All close contacts of the asymptomatic positive cases tested negative, indicating that the asymptomatic positive cases detected in this study were unlikely to be infectious.” The study involved 10 million participants and appears to confirm beyond the shadow of a doubt that the virus is nowhere near as contagious as we were originally told. As of writing, there is not a single case in Victoria, yet the state of emergency is still in place.

So, there is a state of emergency in place for a virus that kills 0.002% of the population, and is not contagious on in 75% of cases (96.4% according to nature magazine), and of which there is not one single active case in the entire state.

It is simply mind boggling that this is being allowed to occur.

I can only assume that the government wishes to hold onto the emergency declaration to extend it’s power and influence over the lives of Victorian’s as long as possible. The numbers are difficult to trust as well, with the definition of a death from coronavirus being a patient that has tested positive to the virus within 30 days of death.

We also need to consider underlying health issues. Why is this not a part of the discussion? I have never once heard this mentioned in the governments narrative.

Not to mention that the integrity of the PCR test itself is under much scrutiny with a court in Portugal ruling the test unreliable (https://off-guardian.org/2020/11/20/portuguese-court-rules-pcr-testsunreliable- quarantines-unlawful/).

The government began using terms such as soft positive and false positive with little or no clarification as to what they actually meant.

In Italy, there is I much discussion about these terms with the consumers association revealing that false positives are as high as 95%.

This is staggering and casts a great amount of doubt on the information provided by the Victorian government. The one and only solution provided by the Victorian government, was a strict lockdown of the entirety of our society.

Lockdown’s are inhumane and ineffective.

At first, people went along with it. It was early days and little was known about the virus itself. Eight months in and it’s curious as to why we engaged in a lockdown at all. The reasoning was from advice provided by health officials that the government have been in close consultation with. As to who these specialists are, and what they actually said, we’ll never know because it’s never been made public.

However, in November, the effects of lockdown are being laid bare. They are absolutely devastating to communities.

Suicide, self-harm and ED presentations are all up 30%. Psychological distress is up at least 40%.

That is 2.7 million people that are currently in psychological distress in the state of Victoria. It is a mental health pandemic.

I’m no mathematician but 2.7 million people sure is a much bigger number than the 900 that have died from coronavirus.

You don’t deal with one pandemic by creating another.

We are a family of 4 with ages ranging from 1 to 37, and every single member of our family has struggled with their mental health as a result of the actions of the Victorian government.

And I doubt that we would even be included in those statistics as we have never sought medical treatment for the issues that arose.

So, in actual fact, the number is likely much, much higher than that.

The government has again failed to protect the vulnerable here.

Those with mental issues have been placed under extreme pressure here by further isolating and alienating them from the rest of the world, and the services that they rely on to survive.

The government has claimed that they support mental health without ever really bringing it to the surface or acknowledging the severe stress that lockdown places these people in.

I’m not sure which health officials advised these things but they should have their medical licenses revoked.

Dealing with one health issue whilst abandoning the impacts of all others is not even close to an effective health response.

If anything, it anti-health.

It is the equivalent of taking up smoking to deal with an anxiety issue. In general, restricting the movement of people is inhumane.

I have heard of people unallowed to visit dying family members because of lockdown restrictions.

How dare any government take that right away from someone.

If someone is willing to take the risk in order to say goodbye to a loved one, it should absolutely be their right.

There is a time and place for the influence of government.

This is not it.

These things that have been taken from people, can never be returned.

The hurt and suffering will always remain.

The 5km rule was completely unnecessary.

If the other rules imposed actually worked and were being followed (social distancing, wearing a mask), then it would simply not matter if an infected person were more than 5km’s from their home.

Restricting people’s movements left them unable to visit loved ones during a time of already unimaginable stress.

No other state required the implementation of such a restriction to manage the crisis.

As an Australian, I pay taxes to utilise medical services anywhere within the entire country.

It’s my right.

I’m not just paying for my local hospital; I’m funding the entire system.

And as part of that system, I’m entitled to medical care anywhere in the entire country.

But that was taken away from me with little to no reasoning.

The overrun of hospitals and health systems all over the country simply never occurred.

The closing of borders was an inconstitutional oversight, placing further stress on the Australian public.

How there are any remaining border or travel restrictions in place is beyond me.

Whilst temporary restrictions may have been necessary, they do not come close to be able to justify what has occurred. Then there is the economic effect.

It appears to be a war on small business and the middle class.

As a Belgrave resident, before March 2020, I was privileged to live in a fantastic community, full of local businesses supporting the community.

To see the majority of the main street closed for 8 months of the year was just devastating.

So many businesses closed, and the rest appeared to struggle.

Speaking recently to a business owner from our main st, he seemed to have completely given up.

He commented that the commercial side of the business no longer made sense.

As a result, unemployment has absolutely skyrocketed. The rate of unemployment in women is at an all-time high.

Throughout the pandemic, entire industries have struggled for reasons unknown, held captive by the Victorian government and their everchanging rules and regulations that change with little to no warning, or actual scientific reasoning.

Our family has struggled also with only one parent maintaining an income.

The lack of financial support and understanding, as well as a lack of reasoning by the Victorian government, has let small business and struggling families down during the pandemic. The mandatory use of masks was another issue were little to no actual science or reasoning was provided. Again, we were told that this was best for our health, as detailed by health professionals and the science that they have access to.

As of November 2020, I am still unaware of a single piece of science that recommends the use of masks in all environments, to effectively stop the spread of an infectious virus.

I am more than happy to be proved wrong, but after scouring the internet, the only evidence I can find points to the contrary. The only science I can find on the matter states that masks provide a 0.3% risk reduction as the strongest argument for mask wearing to prevent COVID-19.

This does not take into account the negative effects of mask wearing (increased ILI, bacterial pneumonia, psych issues etc.).

The results of the study can be viewed here (https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-6817).

So it seems to me that the science is VERY clear.

Masks do not prevent the spread of this virus.

Yet the government insisted that the data confirms that it does.

It is not possible to confirm this when there are several other variables in play.

To effectively prove that the masks are making a difference, you would need to remove social distancing and lockdown.

If the cases went down without those two other restrictions, then I might agree that there’s a clear correlation.

The Victorian government has let the public down by strictly enforcing mandatory masks, when there is little to no science to back it up. But the worst side effect of the masks is the way we’re now treating each other in the street.

I have a valid medical exemption for not wearing a mask, as per the guidelines on the DHHS website.

Therefore, I am not required to wear a mask.

However, I have encountered abuse, aggressive behaviour and discrimination within the community whilst not wearing a mask.

My previously wonderful community of Belgrave has been thrown into disarray and panic by the fear mongering of a government desperate to appear in control.

I now fear leaving the house with my children at the abuse I will receive for not wearing a mask, despite the fact that I am breaking none of the DHHS guidelines.

The issue has placed fear and distrust of others within the community.

We no longer feel safe and happy within our town.

We ponder fleeing the state, and sometimes, the country out of fear of how our governments are responding in Australia. The way that the rules are communicated also places people at an imposition.

You need to have some kind of twitter feed hooked up directly to your brain in order to keep track of what now makes you a criminal.

I would hate to be someone that is without internet.

It would literally be impossible to keep up.

They are also delivered with heartless demeanor and an overtone of it being our fault for not following the rules that we didn’t know existed and were never communicated to us.

No government should have the right to simply change laws and criminalise basic human activity at a moments notice.

Yes, there has been a state of emergency and disaster, but that should not allow a government to do whatever it pleases.

There has been zero community engagement on any of this.

We are simply told what to think and that you’re now a criminal if you go see your Mum 5 mins down the road.

I would also like to point out that compassion and empathy are more important than ever during a state of disaster or emergency, and making everyone a criminal does not help anything.

An example of this is the current rules surrounding mask wearing.

The official advice from the premier was that you have to wear one if you’re getting a sausage sizzle at bunnings, but not if you’re outside.

This is impossible to enforce and places further stress on communities trying to enforce each other (i.e. abuse for not following the rules).

The rules need to be clear and well communicated. Not just dreamed up at a moments notice as you’re heading into a press conference.

The Victorian government has failed the people by it’s poor communication and justification of the rules it has imposed. The fines and penalties also are disproportionate with the offences.

This is coupled with heavy-handed behavior from law enforcement.

I experienced this first-hand when I attempted to peacefully protest lockdown on Melbourne Cup Day.

Below is an account of my experience: Upon arrival, people gathered and began the public discussion.

After 10 minutes, Victoria Police made a circle around the protesters. At that time, there was plenty of space to allow the protest to continue, whilst also allowing attendees to follow social distancing protocols.

Soon, Victoria Police began bringing the circle in closer, and closer. Any who stood their ground were violently dealt with by Victorian Police. I saw people pepper sprayed for standing their ground or attempting to leave the escalating situation.

I watched as they writhed and convulsed in pain.

I watched as Victorian Police denied their repeated requests for medical attention. They were clearly in distress. Police did not respond verbally to any requests for information. They only physically apprehended people if they attempted to move past them.

I saw people having asthma and severe panic attacks, again initially refused medical attention, or any recognition of their distress from Police.

I saw people on the verge of passing out from the heat and lack of water, begging police to be let out. The Police continued their wall of silence. Eventually, someone emerged, and removed a few of the distressed individuals.

But that was just the beginning for us. By this stage, we were forced together in a tight space, completely unable to maintain anything that resembled social distancing.

We had been forced together into a tight space, and police surrounded us with a wall of silence. I would compare it to a mosh pit at a music festival. We were held for 4 hours in 30-degree heat without access to water, toilets, or basic human decency.

At no point did anyone from Victoria Police attempt to communicate what was occurring, or why we were being unlawfully detained.

I do not believe animals would be treated this way.

During one of their movements were they circled closer into us, one of the Police stated that they were not trying to intimidate us. It was impossible not to be intimidated. It was almost a 1 to 1 ratio of police to protesters. They were armed with riot gear, pepper spray and guns. Lots of guns.

After around 3 hours, the police began circulating water to the protesters from a bucket.

If they (or the politicians/police) who ordered this response really cared about the virus risk, is this how we would be treated? I had expected/hoped the protest to go for an hour at the most.

It was a rush for me to get there on time and I did not have time to eat before the protest. Around 4pm, after 4 hours in the hot sun, denied of water of toilets, or any form of communication as to why I was being detained, I was told I was being arrested.

2 police officers grabbed me and escorted me a few steps before saying that I was only being cautioned. I was thoroughly confused, but again, kept silent. I was then taken to another group of officers where I was processed.

I was told that I was being fined for breaching the chief health officer’s directive (this is not a law by the way) of not maintaining a 1.5m social distance, the very thing we had been forced to break by the police themselves.

“Enough is Enough”

Lockdowns are too extreme for the threat imposed.

Kassandra Mouzis Brudenell – The most disturbing part is; the shaming from fellow Victorians who are so scared of this virus, that they have lost their dignity and compassion for those suffering from all non related covid issues. Staying apart for a virus with a 99.9% survival rate is the epitome of ludicrousness.

Never in my life, as a young Australian, have I seen this much poverty and a lack of government accountability. I’ve exceeded my 5km radius many times, to support those who are hungry with food donations and to ease the burden of long lockdowns on friends and family with decaying mental health. If I can prevent a single person from becoming a statistic, then I will.

I will preserve my conscience, unlike many in positions of power right now. They say “staying apart, keeps us together”, yet I beg to differ, because, the staying apart is the very cause of suicide. The staying apart rule, prevents me from feeding my fellow brother and sisters in Melbourne.

The most disturbing part is; the shaming from fellow Victorians who are so scared of this virus, that they have lost their dignity and compassion for those suffering from all non related covid issues. They dare to criticize people who see the dire need many are in, and call us selfish for exceeding the invisible 5km barrier. There is no science backed rationale for this rule, which divides and prevents us from assisting struggling Victorians.

We have allowed the pandemic to run its course and we now see, it’s the adverse impacts of lockdown that are killing people, not covid. Staying apart for a virus with a 99.9% survival rate is the epitome of ludicrousness. When we look back on our history and see this virus for what it really is, I certainly will be proud that I wasn’t on the side of the oppressor; that I stood up for human rights and did the governments job in protecting and providing for Victorians where I could.

I will tell my children that I spoke out despite the scrutiny from uninformed media drowned opposition. Most importantly, that I fought for their civil liberties and economic opportunities.

Please review my formal letter attached, which conveys in great detail as to why these lockdowns are too extreme for the threat imposed by this “virus:” My rationale is backed by various independent experts, and they too, dare to expose the truth.

I also urge you to review the world’s largest tort case launched for covid related crimes against humanity.

Leading German lawyer and member of the German Corona Investigative Committee, Dr. Reiner Fuellmich specialises globally on the prosecution of fraudulent corporations. He now leads a stellar team of international lawyers in what will become the world’s largest global tort case—against all protagonists and accomplices in what is now being termed ‘The COVID Scandal’. In this bombshell narrative, he lays down the background and details of the upcoming case. The game is over, the lies are exposed, people aren’t afraid anymore.

The longer this charade goes on; there will be increased poverty, suicides and certainly vigilante rallies, as the police are no longer serving the people, but rather following unethical orders. Thank you for your careful review.

Do you have any additional comments or suggestions?: Enough is enough.

Asthmatic Fined for No Mask

Police officer didn’t even know the law.

Alexandra Smith (Lawyer)
Asthmatic fined for no mask – police harassment & officer not knowing the law.
PDF | Email Chain | Screenshot of law | Video footage (16.68 MB)

1.On 20 September 2020 I went for a walk with my friend on the Tan.
2.I was not wearing a mask because I have chronic asthma and it was a warm and windy day, so my asthma had flared up.
3.I was stopped by police and asked why I was not wearing a mask. I immediately responded that it was because I am asthmatic.
4.I had all my details taken by police and was treated as if I had committed a crime.
5.I was told by one of the officers that I needed a physical certificate to confirm that I had an exemption.
6.The DHHS website specifically stated at the relevant time that I did not need a physical certificate confirming I had an exemption.
7.I showed the officers that stopped me my asthma inhaler (which is a preventer and reliever called Seretide) and asked them if they wanted to see the prescription, which was in my bag. They had no interest in looking at the prescription.
8.I was given a formal caution for not wearing a mask when I clearly had an exemption.
9.Behind the officers that stopped me was a pack of about 30 (conservative estimate) other police officers.
10.A copy of the video is attached to my submission.
11.After the incident involving police that day, I suffered a panic attack and had to call Lifeline that night.
12.The following day, I called my doctor at Freshwater Place Medical Wellness (Dr John Newton) and he told me that it is very clear that I do not need a medical certificate to prove my exemption.
13.I also contacted the DHHS on 21 September 2020 and the people I spoke with were deliberately evasive about confirming that I did not need to wear a mask for asthma. I can only assume that they had been directed to respond in this manner, because the website itself is very clear.
14.I asked the DHHS to respond to me in writing.
15.On 24 September 2020, I received a response in writing from someone called Kay.
16.Despite my request for confirmation that I do not need to wear a mask for asthma, Kay’s response was also deliberately evasive and she did not confirm what the DHHS website says, which is that I did not need to wear a mask for asthma. Again, I can only assume that Kaywas directed to respond in this evasive manner.
17.I replied to Kay on 24 September 2020 stating that she had not responded to my query. I never received a response to my 24 September email to Kay.
18.A copy of the email chain is attached to my submission.
19.This is State sanctioned persecution of someone who has a medical condition. It is intimidation, bullying and harassment. The Police and Government have intentionally tried to shame people with legitimate medical exemptions into compliance with mask directives, while not providing any evidence of the science behind the directive. Daniel Andrews himself stated that it was purely because it was easier to police. The convenience of the government and Police does not trump my medical health. The impact of this behaviour by the Government and Police on me personally cannot be understated. I have suffered a worsening of my depression and anxiety and I now have an extreme distrust of Government and Police. I will never trust the Police again after what I have witnessed (personally and in other peoples’ videos) in Victoria over the time of the response to COVID.
20. I also attended the protest on 23 October 2020. I was shocked by the way the Police treated everyone and by the way they circled the protesters and corralled everyone closer and closer into a circle, preventing any social distancing. I was terrified by the Police on the day. I did not witness any “violent protesters” at the event, only violent Police. There were people with kids in prams, dogs on leads and overwhelmingly everyone was just happy to be able to exercise their human right to protest. It appeared to me that the Police were there to prevent peaceful and lawful protesting and to silence criticism of the Andrews Government.
21. Police have been used as a tool against the people of Victoria by the Andrews Government. I personally would like to know what directives were given by the Andrews Government to the Police in relation to the protest on 23 October 2020. I know that these are unlikely to be in writing, so we would need evidence from the officers involved, and I doubt that will be forthcoming.

“Small Business Owner, Mother of 3, Lost Faith…”

Lost faith in government to do the right thing by ALL people.

Name Withheld – Small Business Owner and Mother of 3 school-aged children. Hardest challenges of our life. Lost faith in current government to do the right thing by ALL people. Current science indicates this virus is not as dangerous as the modelling first indicated. This severe lockdown is unsustainable.

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the current situation in Victoria. I am a small business owner and mother to 3 children, 2 in year 9 and 1 in Grade 5.

The lockdowns have been one of the hardest challenges we have had to face as a family. I suffer from anxiety and this lockdown has been a huge test on my ability to stay positive for my children while watching them lose their spark each day that goes by.

I have never been a mother that lets her child go on social media or play online games, but that has changed over this time as there is really no other way for them to have social interactions with their friends. Each day I spend all my energy in keeping them motivated to exercise, motivated to enjoy life and motivated to keep waking up each day with a purpose.

My youngest is now back at school and that has made a different but my teens are still home and isolated and that is disheartening.

All that while trying to work in our small business and keep that going.

For the record home schooling and working from home is next to impossible.

I would be the first person to sacrifice my freedoms for the good of others if I really felt that it was necessary and at the start of this pandemic I supported the governments approach to a full lockdown as I felt it necessary to ensure the virus didn’t get away from us, and to support our medical community.

I voted for labour in the last election and was a labour supporter. However, over the period of this second lockdown I have lost faith in labour and this current government to do the right thing by ALL people.

Current science indicates that this virus is not as dangerous as the modelling first indicated however the labours approach still seems to be based on that fear. There is no reason why a more relaxed approach could be adopted so that small to medium businesses are less affected, the real victims of this approach.

This hard lockdown approach, one of the most severe in the world, is not sustainable and I for one no longer support this government nor will I vote for them next time.

Longest Lockdown in the World!

Name Withheld – Longest lockdown in the world. Unachievable goals. No scientific evidence to wear masks outside. Evident virus isn’t as deadly as initially thought. Locked in homes waiting for a vaccine I won’t be injecting. If VIC continues like this – I’m leaving the state or country.

Victoria has had the longest lockdown in the world. It is painful and the premier has set unachievable goals. I go to the gym for my health and wellbeing, but according to the current roadmap gyms won’t be open until there are 0 cases for 14 days. This has not happened in NSW or QLD.

Masks should not be mandatory especially when walking outside. They have no scientific evidence.

I have lived in Melbourne my whole life, I never thought this would be the case in Australia.

We know so much more about the virus now and it is evident that it isn’t as deadly as initially thought. I don’t understand why we are locked up in our homes waiting for a vaccine (which I will not be injecting into my body)

Today NSW had 11 cases, VIC 6. NSW open economy VIC locked up inside their homes for 22 hours and can’t go beyond 5km.

Not to mention the powers given to Victorian Police. If Victoria is going to continue this way I will be leaving either the state or country ASAP.

“97% of Children forced to home-school”

Name withheld – on 97% of Children forced to be home-schooled – The decision by the Daniel Andrews government to close schools needs to be closely scrutinized. Victorians deserve full transparency over the decision making process, and whether The Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 was complied with throughout the process.

There should potentially be amendments to the Act to ensure that state of emergency decisions and particularly those affecting schools are not affected by outside influences and are made based on the best available medical and scientific evidence at the time the decisions are made. (Long Document – Download)

Challenging Police Conduct (Fined $1,652)

Name withheld - Fined $1,652 - at Treasury Gardens Event. PDF | Video (YouTube)

I attended Treasury Gardens on October 31st with one other person. When we arrived organisers of a peaceful assembly had been arrested. I noticed an independent journalist we knew and we went to speak with them. He was standing near a few civilians and a lot of police.

As we talked the organisers were released by police and the few people there, who had been standing with police and media, were told they could gather and listen to the organisers talk as long as people social distance. About 17 people gathered in a radius of 30 meters, or approximately 3000 square meters. Half of those people were independent journalist.

Before the organisers had begun to even talk, police from all over the gardens began to form a large circle and slowly move in. No one was sure what was happening and everyone was quite intimidated. Nothing was said by police to anyone, and when they came closer, people asked if they could leave the "circle" including myself. Nothing was said and the police moved in closer and closer.

Eventually over a loud speaker a voice said "You are in breach of the Chief Health Officers direction. Place your hands on your head if you do not wish to be arrested" I could not believe it as at no stage was I in a group of 10 and was wearing a mask and social distancing the whole time. The police had in effect set us up and then entrapped us. They lied.

In my opinion it was a practice run for later assemblies. My partner was quite distressed and suffered ill health for a number of weeks. She is a nurse of 10 years, and has worked as a palliative oncology nurse for half that time. We were fined $1652 even though we had broken no directions.

I have included a video compiled of the event which that actually shows the lunacy of the situation. I feel watching it sums the event much better than I can.

The video is edited together showing real time events from different angles. At one point it is sped up as people go from "the circle" to be fined. In my opinion this was completely disgusting behaviour by the police.

This video has been shared 1000s and 1000s of times on social media, and 99% of 1000s of comments on the Reignite Democracy page were of abject fear for the city we live in, and complete disgust. Worst still the media were there and reported nothing on the overzealous reach of the police. Here is a the video of the incident.

I feel it illustrates things much better than my word can.

Do you have any additional comments or suggestions?:
If you do not watch the video it may be easy to have the impression this tale is exaggerated. In fact it probably under sells how bad the police behaviour was that day.

The look on the police faces that day (I'm no fool) was that many of them looked ready for violence. The fact that one man (excluding the organiser) was subject to that violence attests to that. After this event I feel somewhat scared to give my submission, but the police behaviour that day, and others, was so overzealous I feel I must.

“Bring Back Freedom!”

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