MANTRA HOTEL

Back in May, a number of refugee activ­ists were fined or arrested at the Preston Mantra on Bell St drawing considerable attention to the use of the hotel as a makeshift detention cen­tre. In response to COVID-19, over 60 refugees have been detained on a ‘secure-level’ of the ho­tel guarded by Australian Border Force officers. The justifications given for the temporary medical evacuations from Manus Island and Nauru were for the health and safety of the detainees. When a security guard at the hotel tested positive for the virus, however, this justification was brought into question by local refugee activists. While it doesn’t appear to have spread to the detainees, the event has raised concerns about the risks of detaining people in confined and crowded spaces where they cannot physically distance themselves from others who may be exposed to the virus.

Over a month later, as we all know, a securi­ty guard breaching hotel quarantine is considered – accurately or not – as responsible for the sec­ond-wave of coronavirus sweeping across the state of Victoria. Subsequent enquiries into the breach, have revealed a catastrophic lack of adequate vet­ting, training, and resources made available in as­signing guards to manage the health risks of con­taining the coronavirus. Although these examples present very different circumstances, with differ­ent outcomes, both highlight the uncomfortable position we find ourselves in when we place organ­isations and staff focused on security and policing into the position of front-line health care workers. If trained hospital staff struggle to maintain the levels of hygiene and PPE procedures required to mitigate the risk of spread, how and why are we placing this responsibility onto individuals who have – at best – completed first-aid certifications?

One constant throughout this pandemic has remained – those that listen to and act only on the advice from the medical research avail­able have avoided the worst of the pandemic in their communities. I should say, to be fair, the state and federal governments here have for the most part emphasised this. Victoria Police in turn, have acted primarily on the informa­tion provided to them by the DHHS as well as state and federal health ministers. However, as long as the police and other security organisa­tions act as the frontlines of the risk mitigation, we find ourselves with this kind of two-head­ed snake, unsure of which is leading which.

Furthermore, between the Black Lives Matter protest, the Flemington Towers lockdown, and now this Mantra Hotel refugee protest, there have been a number of accusations that police are using the pandemic as a justification to target peo­ple and actions that may otherwise be protected by freedom of speech and protest laws. In particu­lar, among those fined during the Mantra protests, some activists maintain that protesting presents no greater health risk to the spread of COVID-19 than going to the grocery store or attending local parks for exercise. However, as doctors and health professionals pretty uniformly advise against par­ticipation in protests, we find the politically active among us grappling with our own two headed snake – one that cares about human life in the pan­demic, and one that cares for human life after it.

By J Brinkley