Ambulance bosses accused of pandemic funeral cover-up

Perth Now

24-04-2025

Ambulance executives are being accused of covering up a secret funeral which breached COVID-19 rules, while residents languished under harsh restrictions.
A bombshell submission to the Inquiry into Ambulance Victoria claims personnel flouted pandemic restrictions in September 2021 to attend a funeral for a former colleague while Victorians were under one of the world's longest lockdowns.
The event was supported by the local manager and approved by former chief executive Tony Walker, with about 40 people attending, the anonymous document claimed.
Ambulance commanders, managers, support officers and a band were among the attendees, with some responsible for informing staff of pandemic rules.
Tough COVID-19 restrictions at the time included a five-kilometre travel limit, a nightly curfew, and no more than 10 people at funerals.
"On-shift paramedics (despite their objections to the funeral event) were directed to rearrange ambulances for the event and to hand over the keys to their ambulances to allow the beacons to be turned on for the hearse," the submission claimed.
An email chain used to organise the event indicated the location was chosen to "avoid public eyes" and booked as professional development in workers' calendars.
The communications centre placed a warning on one vehicle to ensure it would not be dispatched to a patient while it was travelling to the event, the submission claimed.
Victoria's Ambulance Union confirmed the event occurred, but said no paramedics attended the funeral.
A guard of honour comprised of staff formed outside an ambulance branch following the funeral, where the hearse was driven past.
Union secretary Danny Hill accused Ambulance Victoria of a cover-up by trying to scapegoat a worker for organising some of the event's logistics.
"If it is established that AV did the wrong thing under the COVID rules, then they just need to be open and transparent about it," he said.
The inquiry submission said paramedics were uncomfortable with other personnel entering their branches for fear of catching COVID-19, but the power imbalance resulted in no one reporting the senior managers.
Victoria's corruption watchdog investigated and substantiated the complaint before handing responsibility back to the organisation to take action.
Ambulance Victoria executive Jesse Maddison on Thursday confirmed senior decision makers at the time were no longer working for the organisation.
Personnel were subjected to disciplinary action, but Mr Maddison would not say what that entailed.
Paramedics at the event were off duty and any ambulances were offline, he said.
Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the behaviour of senior leaders at the time was "completely and utterly unacceptable".
"However, I'm confident that Ambulance Victoria took appropriate action at that time in terms of an investigation and consequences for those involved," she told reporters.
Opposition Leader Brad Battin wants a full investigation.
"We're seeing a government department effectively (trying) to cover up the fact they had a service available for their own staff that wasn't available for the rest of Victorians," he said.
Premier Jacinta Allan said she understood the community would be frustrated about the incident, labelling it "entirely inappropriate".