Monday 1 August 2022 02:00 AM Brett Sutton speaks to media after media accused Premier Dan Andrews of hiding ... trends now
Victoria's Covid chief Brett Sutton has suddenly emerged just days after Victorian Premier Dan Andrews batted away accusations he was hiding the top doctor.
Prof Sutton became a Victorian stalwart during the Covid pandemic and starred almost daily at the premier's press conferences.
However, he has from time to time said things that reportedly didn't please the government, such as letting slip to 3AW's Neil Mitchell in September 2020 that a Covid curfew wasn't his idea.
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton made a flurry of media appearances on Friday after months of comparative silence
Mitchell noted that it been literally radio silence from the not-normally microphone-shy Prof Sutton ever since.
‘Why hasn’t he spoken to me for two years?’ Mitchell told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Because the last time he spoke to me he was too honest and he embarrassed the government.
‘I know he would like to talk to me, I know he’s willing to talk to me, the government won’t let him.
‘We’re in a bloody pandemic and people trust him. He knows he’s got to get a message out but they won’t let him.
'He should stand up for himself. He should insist.’
Victorian Premier Dan Andrews denied he had been hiding Prof Sutton from the press
At a press conference last week, reporters asked Mr Andrews why requests to interview Prof Sutton were continually knocked back.
3AW's Dennis O'Kane said both the health department and the premier's media team had repeatedly blocked requests to talk to Prof Sutton.
'That's a matter for him – I'm not his press secretary, Dennis,' Mr Andrews said.
'He's perfectly capable of answering your questions and playing his role … he has quite a bit
