Defence Commander says offer of ADF troops to Victoria was not taken up

Lieutenant General John Frewen, Commander Defence COVID-19 Task Force, testifies to the Senate.CREDIT:ALEX ELLINGHAUSEN. The commander of the Defence response to the pandemic has confirmed an ADF offer to make troops available to strengthen Victoria's hotel quarantine scheme was not taken up by the Andrews government. The general's testimony made clear that had Victoria sought ADF assistance on the same scale as NSW, hundreds of personnel could have been mobilised to bolster the state’s quarantine arrangements. It prompted the Victorian opposition to renew its call for Premier Daniel Andrews to resign for misleading the public about a crucial element of the deadly hotel quarantine debacle.