The Victorian government has refused to apologise after the state ombudsman found the timing of the lockdown of Melbourne public housing towers in July violated human rights laws.
The hard lockdowns – in which nine public housing towers were surrounded by police on 4 July and more than 3,000 residents confined to their flats for five days – has been the subject of an investigation by the Victorian ombudsman, Deborah Glass.
“Many residents knew nothing of the lockdown or the reason for it when large numbers of police appeared on their estate that afternoon,” Glass said.
