Victoria’s former chief health officer Brett Sutton has admitted that many measures imposed during Victoria’s brutal Covid-19 lockdowns were “probably never necessary,” describing the period under Dan Andrews’ government as a “horror show”.

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Dr Sutton, who was the public face of the state’s pandemic response, appearing almost daily alongside Andrews, spoke to former Melbourne radio host Neil Mitchell about the challenges faced during the three years in which Melbourne residents spent 262 days in lockdown.

“There's no shying away from the fact that you can't get everything right, as I certainly didn't,” Sutton said.

He refused to comment on some of the most contentious public health orders, including the closure of children’s playgrounds, a 5km travel limit, and the night-time curfew – the latter reportedly never requested by Victoria Police and, according to emails, not based on health advice.

Sutton did concede that some measures, such as touching elbows, were “probably never necessary”.

Former Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton believes scientists could develop a vaccine in less than 100 days in a future pandemic. pic.twitter.com/IYYnhGQtRw

— RM (@RM_19844) September 23, 2025

“Through 100 years of understanding infectious diseases we had overemphasised the idea that it'll pass through surfaces or handshakes or droplets spread when the reality was it's in our breath and it'll spread to each other, especially if we're in close proximity,” he said.

On lockdowns more broadly, Sutton said their use depended on the circumstances but admitted Victorians would be unlikely to accept such harsh measures again.

“I think you can manage public health and social measures a number of different ways… maybe we will agree as a society that we never want to do that again. I'm okay with that,” he said.

🦠Victoria’s CHOF, Brett Sutton, admits lockdowns weren’t necessary.

Dan bankrupted Victoria over it. People were forced to get vaccinated. Others had to die alone.

And then there was Vic Pol’s brutality—choking women out, and firing rubber bullets at unarmed protestors. pic.twitter.com/fu1Iq2gXW0

— EmmaBorosKidd (@EmBorosKidd) September 23, 2025

“If a pandemic came and it was killing 10 per cent of us, I think some of us – I think many of us – would say we need to do something really robust. By the same token, there are other ways to manage stuff. And if we all wore masks, and we all got vaccinated, and we all kept distances without them being mandated, that's a potential path we can take. We should be able to choose what we want as a society in terms of balancing those competing issues.”

But he rejected the notion that minimal public health measures would have sufficed.

Brett Sutton has admitted several pandemic directives were “probably never necessary” – including ordering Victorians not to shake hands and advising them to wipe down surfaces and groceries with disinfectant.

The former chief health officer has also revealed he woke up every… pic.twitter.com/GX7LpgUxCe

— Michael Arbon (@arbsmichael) September 23, 2025

“Timing is everything, and it depends on what your objectives are, and when you institute it, and how long you do it for, and all of those elements. But the idea that we didn't need any kind of public health and social measures and we just needed to tell the elderly to stay at home for a year while the vaccine was being developed, is absurd to me,” Sutton said.

“It's pretty clear that if you've eliminated the virus across the country, and you need to eliminate it in the last place where it exists, so that we can all move about freely, then it's reasonable to have those social distancing measures instituted, including lockdowns.”