“Considering these soaring legal costs are already double the compensation paid to vulnerable public housing towers residents after their mistreatment, it just goes to show Labor’s priorities are all wrong.”
Details of the hefty bill were revealed last month in answers to questions on notice by Vallence, which forced Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes to reveal the overall cost in external legal fees for the four-year saga reached $10,681,642 on April 30 this year.
In her response, Symes said Victoria’s legal costs would be covered by insurance held with Victoria’s state-backed insurance agency, the VMIA. The body has been under significant financial pressure in recent years following a major increases in costs, prompting premium increases.
Vallence said money paid by Victorian taxpayers was still being used by the government on legal fees and it would likely lead to insurance premiums rising as a result of similar claims.
Last year, taxpayers picked up the $1.27 million legal bill for Victoria to cancel the 2026 Commonwealth Games. In 2021, the state government also revealed it had spent more than $15 million on legal representation for its inquiry into the state’s botched hotel quarantine program.
In response to questions about the latest COVID class action, a government spokesperson reiterated that the state’s legal costs were covered by insurance held with the VMIA and said it would be inappropriate to comment further given the matter was still before the courts.
It comes as the state government attempts to auction off medical supplies stockpiled during the pandemic.
Tender documents, seen by The Sunday Age, show HealthShare Victoria – the agency responsible for intervening when there are medical supply shortages – is attempting to offload as much as 10 per cent of its personal protective equipment (PPE) inventory in eye shields, visors and masks.
A Department of Health spokesperson said the one-off PPE auction, to be completed by the end of the month, would ensure the PPE is used before it expires.
With Broede Carmody