There is no doubt that Victoria is in uncharted territory. Melbourne entering Stage 4 lockdown, with a nightly curfew and mass closures of businesses and stores for six weeks, is not a scenario many Australians have lived through, nor one they might have predicted before February.
So the Premier, Daniel Andrews, was absolutely right when he said on Monday “there is no playbook” as the state grapples with trying to stem the exponential spread of coronavirus.
The task Premier Andrews is facing is colossal. But the fact on Sunday it was announced that childcare centres would be closed to everyone except for children of “permitted” workers and vulnerable children, for at least six weeks from Thursday, without any clarification for how those employed in the sector would be paid remains astounding.
Read more by campaign partner Georgie Dent in Women’s Agenda
