Victoria Premier Dan Andrews secretly monitors citizens’ transaction, social media data

Users across social media are calling it another conspiracy theory come true. 

According to a new report from the Herald Sun Sunday, Victoria Premier Dan Andrews has been secretly monitoring the credit card transaction data and social media behavior of private Victorian citizens. The data are collected and stored in a classified federal database called Insights Victoria and accessible to only a select few government officials, including law enforcement. 

The database was created in August 2020 in response to COVID-19 to act as a “single source of truth” and keep tabs on Victorians. But a September 2020 briefing note said the registry was to remain even after the pandemic and continue to “inform decision-making". 

While a government spokesperson has insisted that the data were all anonymized, Insights Victoria was updated daily with information sourced from multiple platforms and includes “commercial in-confidence” and “sensitive” data not permitted for third party or public release. 

Full access to the database was given to Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton, Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp and Premier Andrews’ private political staff. 

Andrews is well-known for his heavy-handed response to COVID-19, earning the title “Coronavirus Dictator” from the Washington Post. The premier was quick to pull the trigger on harsh lockdowns in response to low caseloads – sometimes as little as 22 COVID cases – keeping Victorian citizens under lockdown for a total of 262 days.  

In Andrews’ Victoria, an easing of restrictions meant that two individuals could meet outdoors for four hours – up from two – within 10 kilometers of their homes. This was in addition to the time allotted for exercise. 

Andrews is also known to have little love for the unvaccinated. 

"There is going to be a vaccinated economy, and you get to participate in that if you are vaccinated," Andrews said in September. "We're going to move to a situation where, to protect the health system, we are going to lock out people who are not vaccinated and can be," he added.