Victoria premier's department head 'unaware' who decided to use security guards in hotel quarantine
by Josh Taylor from on (#58CRC)
Chris Eccles tells inquiry it is extremely unlikely' his department could make such a deal without his knowledge
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The head of the Victorian premier's department has told the hotel quarantine inquiry he is unaware" who made the decision to use private security guards in the troubled program, with Daniel Andrews set to front the inquiry on Wednesday.
It comes a week after text messages disclosed to the inquiry from the then police commissioner, Graham Ashton, suggest the Department of Premier and Cabinet was behind the deal. Text messages on 27 March - the day hotel quarantine was announced - revealed Ashton understood private security would be used for the program, and not Victoria police or the Australian Defence Force.
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