Andrews blames the virus for ‘taking people’s freedoms away’

Premier Daniel Andrews has deflected blame for implementing harsh restrictions – which have been criticised for taking away Victorian’s personal freedoms – to the coronavirus itself. “It's been put to me that it's the Government that has taken away people's freedoms. The virus has taken people's freedoms away,” he said. Probed whether it was fair on businesses to not go ahead with easing restrictions on business operations on Sunday as previously planned, Mr Andrews responded it would be unfair to do so “because you’ll be closed again”. “There’s nothing fair to anybody if you open up because you’re pressured to so and the science doesn’t back it,” he said. “No business, large or small, will benefit from being open for a very short period of time, only then to have to pinball in and out of rules and restrictions and shutdowns well into 2021."