Northern Victorian MPs divided over government's pandemic powers bill

Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell compared the bill to the Enabling Act of 1933 which allowed the Chancellor of Germany, then Adolf Hitler, to bypass 'the systems and checks and balances in government'.

Ms Lovell argued the bill would allow the Health Minister to make public health orders based on personal attributes like age, gender, sexual orientation or race.

"This legislation is not about streamlining state-of-emergency powers; these proposed laws are about making it easier for the state government to control people's lives," she said.

Member for Northern Victoria and leader of the government in the Legislative Council, Jaclyn Symes, said if the bill does not pass the ability to require positive cases to isolate would be affected.

"There will be real consequences if this bill does not proceed," she said.

"If it is not passed, there will be significant effects on Victoria's ability to manage and contain COVID-19 within the community."

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Ms Symes said debate around the bill has "sought to undermine the confidence that Victorians have in the democratic process..."

Member for Northern Victoria Tim Quilty argued the proposed bill was not pandemic specific, but a 'wide-reaching, open-ended extension of the emergency powers'.

Member for Northern Victoria Tania Maxwell will not support the bill.

"The government is asking the public to trust it, but it has already compromised this trust through the lack of transparency and due diligence by which this legislation was developed," she said.

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