The Andrews Labor government is facing a multibillion-dollar COVID-19 bill from businesses shut down during the stage four lockdown for failures in hotel quarantine, in a landmark class action that names Health Minister Jenny Mikakos, Jobs Minister Martin Pakula and their department secretaries.
The man who successfully sued the Queensland government for as much as $1 billion following the 2011 floods is launching one of the country’s largest claims, expected to be worth billions of dollars and potentially crippling to Victoria, after Premier Daniel Andrews went it alone this year to pass laws that support the class action industry.
Mr Andrews’ latest woes comes as federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg labelled the Premier’s handling of the pandemic as a “slow car crash” and a “massive drag on the national economy”, as the state recorded 114 new cases and 11 deaths.