Just one day after some genuine positivity in the COVID-19 battle with the creation of a vaccine hub in central Wodonga comes a salient reminder how precarious the response remains.
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The Victorian government has gained the necessary support of crossbenchers to get the latest extension of state of emergency powers through the Upper House.
The wide-ranging powers, which hand Premier Daniel Andrews and chief medical officer Brett Sutton to the power to impose strict restrictions without parliament's approval including a repeat of the circuit-breaker lockdown witnessed last month, will remain in place until the end of the year.
Put simply if there is another cluster emerge somewhere in Melbourne and health officials aren't confident they can nip it in the bud all Victorians can be back in a statewide lockdown in a heart beat.
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The extension is further evidence the government is remaining ultra cautious in the virus response even though the vaccine rollout has commenced.
But on the flipside the state stays on edge and businesses fearing another hammer blow to long term viability.
Predictably, Wodonga-based parliamentarians Tim Quilty and Bill Tilley aren't impressed with the actions of Greens leader Samantha Ratnam, Reason Party MP Fiona Patten and Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick green-lighting the emergency declaration through the Upper House.
"This nine-month blank cheque leaves businesses with an uncertain future, the black cloud of a snap lockdown always threatening to close their doors, lock people in their homes and students out of school," Mr Tilley said.
Mr Quilty also let rip: "(Mr Andrews) wants to keep regional Victorians under the yoke of emergency powers so that he can snap his fingers and force us all into lockdown for absolutely no reason".
Political argy is predictable, but state of emergency powers also give governments the ability to be proportionate with restrictions if unfortunately required again.
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