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Brett Sutton, Victoria’s ex-health chief once crowned ‘Victorian of the Year’ for his COVID crackdown, now concedes key restrictions went too far and caused lasting harm.

Victoria’s former chief health officer Brett Sutton has admitted that many of the public health rules he imposed during COVID were “probably never necessary,” in one of the starkest public confessions yet on the state’s infamous lockdowns.

In an interview published Tuesday, Professor Sutton — who fronted daily press conferences beside former Premier Daniel Andrews — described his three years in the role as a “horror show” and conceded he made significant mistakes.

Melbourne’s five million residents endured 262 days of lockdown — the longest cumulative confinement anywhere in the world.

During the wide-ranging interview with veteran broadcaster Neil Mitchell, Sutton acknowledged that certain draconian measures were not supported by solid science.

“Touching elbows was probably never necessary,” he confessed. “Through 100 years of understanding infectious diseases we had overemphasised the idea that it’ll pass through surfaces or handshakes or droplets spread when the reality was it’s in our breath.”

Sutton also admitted that repetitive hand sanitising and disinfecting of groceries and surfaces was largely unnecessary, that some lockdown rules went too far, and that children and families bore a disproportionate burden during the pandemic.

On quitting his post in 2023, Sutton was named Victorian of the Year for his “significant and valuable contributions to the Victorian community” during COVID.

However, he now concedes there may have been “other ways” to manage the crisis without imposing the extreme restrictions that won him such high praise in elite circles.

“Maybe we will agree as a society that we never want to do that again,” he said. “I’m okay with that.”

Brett Sutton Changes His Tune

Brett Sutton’s admissions contrast sharply with the criticism he levelled at protesters while he was serving as Victoria’s Chief Health Officer.

In one September 2021 rant, for example, Sutton described Victorians who objected to many of his now-discredited mandates as “anti everything”, “absolutely wacky”, and “literally in a fantasy world”.

“Let’s not pretend that these are otherwise rational individuals,” he said at the time.

“They think that everything will be solved by taking a horse deworming tablet,” he claimed, echoing misinformation rapidly spreading at the time thanks to prominent US Democrats and legacy media outlets.

Professor Sutton’s most recent confession comes years after Victorians were ordered to limit movement to five kilometres from home, observe night-time curfews, and accept the closure of children’s playgrounds — coercive measures that are now under legal challenge.

It also follows explosive revelations in April that Victoria’s Labor Government imposed its harsh curfew without medical basis. A secret document showed Sutton was not consulted before then-Premier Daniel Andrews’ “crisis-cabinet” announced the night-time restrictions.

Victoria’s total of 262 days in lockdown was more than double that of New South Wales, despite NSW’s larger population and lower death toll.

A Look Back at Australia’s Lockdowns

While unwilling to discuss health orders still under court scrutiny, Sutton accepted responsibility for his role in shaping the Andrews government’s response.

Asked about his mistakes, Sutton replied that there is “probably a list that’s too long for this podcast”.

“Decision-making around the settings… is probably something I would re-prosecute many times in my mind.”

Speaking of the children who endured school closures, social isolation, and restrictions on play and gatherings, Sutton said, “They made a significant sacrifice when they were least at risk,” adding that they were “constrained in their lives, and that didn’t benefit them as much as it benefited others”.

Prior to COVID, Australia’s pandemic emergency response plans contained no mention of large-scale lockdowns.

The lockdowns imposed on Victorians are now widely acknowledged as contributing to educational losses for schoolchildren, the closure of small businesses, enduring economic harms, and mental health decline for adults linked to joblessness, alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence and suicide.

An independent review published in October 2022 found Australia’s response to Covid-19 to be excessive, particularly in regard to school closures, lockdowns and border closures.

A separate cost-benefit analysis conducted by the Institute of Public Affairs found that 37 times more life-years were lost than were saved as a result of lockdowns, and that thus far, Australia’s Covid-19 response has cost almost $1 trillion.

Another cost-benefit analysis, authored by UNSW economist Gigi Foster, found that the costs of Australia’s lockdowns have been at least 68 times greater than any benefits they delivered.

Brett Sutton now works as director of Health and Biosecurity at the CSIRO.