Australia's Victorian State Health Minister has ordered officials to refer allegations of unsafe sex practices by HIV carriers to police in the wake of the Michael Neal scandal, which has placed the future of the state's health chief in doubt. Bronwyn Pike has called for executives at the state's Department of Human Services - who are accused of failing to move quickly enough to stop Neal from allegedly spreading the virus intentionally - to forcibly prevent irresponsible or malicious HIV carriers from passing on the deadly disease. The minister's warning comes after the federal Government's chief adviser on HIV, Michael Wooldridge, called for the sacking of Victorian Chief Health Officer Robert Hall, who failed to use his powers to detain alleged sex predator Mr Neal, despite specific advice that he should do so. Opposition health spokeswoman Helen Shardey has joined the call for Dr Hall to resign or be sacked. "I certainly think it appears as if his position is untenable," Shardey said. The Opposition also demanded that the Bracks Government come clean about its role in the failure to contain Neal. "I can't imagine that, as a minister, at some point you wouldn't be briefed on these issues," Shardey said. Dr Wooldridge, the chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on AIDS, Sexual Health and Hepatitis, said the Neal case was Victoria's equivalent to the Jayant Patel scandal, which engulfed Peter Beattie's Queensland Government. Neal was committed to stand trial last week on 106 charges, including intentionally spreading HIV, attempting to spread a very serious disease, rape and the possession and production of child pornography. Neal's committal hearing heard that the efforts of health officials to coax Neal into practising safe sex were an abject failure. The accused man repeatedly ignored letters of warning and orders that banned him from having unprotected sex or visiting sex-on-site venues. So frustrated was Neal by the flood of letters he received, he demanded in an email to health officials that the DHS refer further allegations against him to police. Documents obtained by The Age newspaper revealed that despite being told by an advisory panel in January last year that he should use his last-resort powers to lock up Neal, Dr Hall rejected the advice, allowing Neal to go on to attempt to infect his 16th victim in April last year. Ref: news.com.au (m)