11th Nov 2020, 3:59 PM – Senate Motions - Victoria: COVID-19 - Lockdown

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Victorian Senator David Van (Liberal), which means it was successful. Motions like these don't make any legal changes on their own but are politically influential because they represent the will fo the Senate.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) congratulates the people of Victoria for their achievement in overcoming the second wave;

(b) commends the people of Victoria for the sacrifices they have made in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic;

(c) notes the people of Victoria have succeeded in stopping the spread of COVID-19 despite the hardship it has entailed;

(d) further notes that:

(i) the lockdowns have caused immeasurable damage to the lives and livelihoods of Victorians,

(ii) closed borders and lockdowns are not a demonstration or evidence of success, rather they are evidence of outbreaks that have got out of control, and

(iii) the Victorian public have succeeded despite the mismanagement of hotel quarantine and contract tracing by the Victorian Government;

(e) mourns the 800 Victorian lives lost throughout the second outbreak and sends its sympathies to their families;

(f) recognises that the Federal Government has stood by Victorians every single day of the lockdown that became necessary as a result of the outbreak that got out of control; and

(g) expresses its gratitude to the people of Victoria on behalf of a grateful nation.