Daniel Andrews says he’s no ‘apologist’ for Labor

The Premier says Victoria is his priority no matter who leads the country, warning he will fight the feds for “fairer” funding.

Daniel Andrews says he isn’t “some apologist” for his party and warned the new federal government should expect Victoria to be staunch advocates for “fairer” funding deals.

The Premier, speaking publicly for the first time since Anthony Albanese was elected to the role of prime minister, said Australians had voted for a “positive” change.

“He ran on a positive agenda about making the country stronger but also making sure that no one’s left behind,” Mr Andrews said.

But Mr Andrews said the appointment of a federal Labor government didn’t guarantee an end to bickering between the state and Commonwealth.

“I think we’ll wait and let the cabinet be sworn in first but it’ll come as no surprise to the incoming federal government — just as it was no surprise to the government that they have replaced — that states are very much united when it comes to (funding),” he said.

“We know that we’ve not received the support that we are fundamentally entitled to.

“Whether it’s a Labor government or Liberal government, states, whether Labor or Liberal, are very much united on this issue.”

Mr Andrews says Mr Albanese is aware that Victoria is his first priority. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

Mr Andrews said the decision to wind back an equal health funding partnership didn’t make sense because the Victorian healthcare system was anticipating significant demand ahead of a “challenging winter”.

“Why would you be cutting funding? Why would you be reducing funding? That doesn’t make any sense,” he said.

“We will have a discussion, and we’ll see how we go.

“It will come as no surprise to whomever the federal health minister finishes up being ... (that) in order to provide better care for more patients, we need a better funding deal out of Canberra.”

Mr Andrews said Mr Albanese, who he has known for 25 years, was aware that Victoria was his first priority.

“We’re good mates. There’ll be some things we agree on and some things we don’t but he’ll always be clear that I put Victoria first,” Mr Andrews said.

“I don’t much care who is in government. If there’s an argument to have, we’ll have it regardless of what team the federal government is from.

“I’m not some apologist for my party or any other party. If we need more and we need to do better, then we’ll be campaigning and fighting for that.”

Daniel Andrews says the Victorian community has sent a ‘powerful message’ to Josh Frydenberg. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

‘Powerful message’ for Frydenberg

Mr Andrews says former federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has been sent a “very powerful message” by the Victorian community.

The Premier on Tuesday said Saturday’s election result “re-emphasises the fact that Victorians are a good deal smarter than some people credit them”.

“They can spot people who are about their political party first and their state second,” Mr Andrews said.

“They can spot people, who at the darkest time, play politics.

“They can spot people who try to undermine health advice and who are not about keeping people safe, they’re about keeping their seat safe.

“They’ve been sent a very powerful message on the weekend - a very powerful message.”

While Mr Andrews didn’t name Mr Frydenberg in his comments, he has previously labelled the former Kooyong MP as being a “Liberal first and Victorian second”.

“Leadership is not about being popular, it’s about doing the right thing,” he added.

Mr Andrews said the prospect of Peter Dutton being appointed federal opposition leader would not affect his hopes of being re-elected later this year.

“It doesn’t make any job easier or harder. That’s not relevant,” he said.

“I wish him well, if he’s been chosen by his party, that’s a great honour.”

Mr Andrews said he would welcome Mr Dutton to visit Victoria to sample “the best food and wine in the world”.

But he stopped short of saying he’d be prepared to join him for dinner.

Daniel Andrews says he wishes Peter Dutton well. Picture: .Jane Dempster

“I don’t know. I’m not sure whether he would want to have dinner with me,” he laughed.

“... He’s made a whole range of comments about Victoria.

“You guys need to remember this. It wasn’t that long ago when these people were running around saying we were all going to get murdered by an African gang, and we couldn’t go out for dinner.

“This is the sort of low road politics that these people played just a few years ago and if any of you think they’ve changed, well, think again.

“Who the Liberal Party kicks out today, and who the Liberal Party elects today, is a matter for them.”

While acknowledging there were learnings to take from the federal election ahead of November, Mr Andrews refused to comment on voting swings against Labor.

Mr Andrews said he didn’t have time to be an “election commentator”.

“I’m not going to pull apart the federal election result for you. That’s your job,” he said.

“I’m sorry, it might be deeply frustrating for you, but I’m not here as a commentator on behalf of the Labor Party.

“I’ll leave the psephology to others.”

Mr Andrews said it would be up to the federal government to determine how they spent a “locked box” of $4nn in funding that was initially set aside by the federal Liberals for the scrapped East West Link project.

But he cast doubt over the contents of the so-called box, stating that it needed to be found first.

“And let’s find what’s in it, and I reckon there might not be much in it, it might be a dog box,” he said.

“I’ve never had a great deal of faith that this $4bn dollars is sitting around waiting to be spent.”

Josh Frydenberg has lost his seat of Kooyong. Picture: David Caird

Frydenberg finally concedes Kooyong

Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg has conceded defeat to independent Monique Ryan.

In a statement, the outgoing treasurer said he rang Dr Ryan to congratulate her and wished her well for the term ahead.

The former deputy Liberal leader said it had been “an incredible privilege to have served as the local member for the last 12 years”.

“I look forward to spending more time with my family,” Mr Frydenberg said in a statement.

Dr Ryan thanked Mr Frydenberg for his service in Kooyong and wished him well.

She promised to listen to her constituents as an MP “so that the entire electorate’s values can be represented in Canberra”.

“It’s been an amazing journey over the past few months, involving 2000 volunteers, 3000 donors, 4000 yard signs, 55,000 doors knocked, and thousands of supporters,” Dr Ryan said in a statement.

“This victory is as much for them as it is for me. I want to thank them all. We would not be here now without their amazing efforts. I also want to thank my husband and family for their unstinting and generous love and support through the campaign.”

“Now, the work begins anew. Our team is preparing for the next step, helping ready me for entering parliament and immediately beginning work on our community’s priorities: real and urgent action on climate change, a strong federal integrity commission, and equality, respect, and safety for women.”

Victorian minister Martin Pakula earlier accused Frydenberg of denial. Picture: Getty Images

It comes after senior Andrews government minister Martin Pakula accused Mr Frydenberg of being “in denial” over his election loss.

Mr Pakula said he believed the result in Kooyong had proven Victorians didn’t forgive the former federal Treasurer’s treatment of his home state during the worst of the pandemic.

“I’ve heard Josh Frydenberg say as late as this morning that he doesn’t think his attacks on Victoria played any role in his loss in Kooyong,” Mr Pakula said on Monday.

“All I’d say is that denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.”

It follows similar comments made by Premier Daniel Andrews over the past two years, where he repeatedly referred to Mr Frydenberg as a “Liberal first and Victorian second”.

Mr Pakula said the Andrews government looked forward to working with Anthony Albanese and his cabinet, adding that Victoria would soon make its case for additional funding on key projects.

He said Victorian ministers would “unquestionably” be turning their minds to how they’d like to work with their new Commonwealth counterparts.

“We are looking forward to a much stronger relationship and one which is fairer to Victoria,” he said.

“I’m very hopeful and confident that the era of Victoria being horrifically short-changed by the federal government is over.”

Health Minister Martin Foley said the handling of the pandemic in Victoria by the federal government under Scott Morrison and Mr Frydenberg impacted the election outcome.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“(Victorians) know when they are being treated foolishly and I think that was one of the elements that contributed to the results over the weekend,” Mr Foley said.

“I wish Mr Frydenberg all the best for the future.

“But I think there are points to reflect on in regards to the commonwealth’s response to Victoria (during the pandemic).”

Mr Foley said the Liberal government’s response was not motivated by “the interest of the public health system” but instead by “cheap fortuitous politics”.

“The Morrison government’s reduction (in health care funding) has been a weight around the shoulders of all of our healthcare system workers,” he said.

“We will be very keen to sit down with whoever the new Health Minister is and make sure that the partnership arrangements are genuine between Victoria and the commonwealth.”

Mr Foley said he was looking forward to funding from the federal government for urgent care centres and resources to grow the heath workforce in Victoria.

Josh Frydenberg and wife Amie at the Grace Park Hawthorn Club. Picture: David Caird

Meanwhile, Mr Pakula, as the Major Events, Tourism and Sports Minister, said he would be seeking a contribution towards the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Victoria.

But he confirmed Mr Andrews was yet to have formal conversations with the new Prime Minister.

“I’m sure the Premier will be speaking to him in short order,” he said.

Despite the state turning mostly red at a federal level, Mr Pakula acknowledged the threat of more teal independents potentially running in the November state election.

“I think the electoral landscape is definitely changing,” he said.

“I think all parties need to digest the result and understand the messages from it.”

But he warned that conversations about the Liberal party needing to shift further to the right was not a good outcome for the nation.

“Whilst that may be good for the ALP, I’m not sure it’ll be good for the country,” he said.

“I don’t know that Australia needs a mainstream party and a Trumpist MAGA (Make America Great Again) party but that seems to be what commentators are urging be the case.”

Andrews blamed for Libs’ loss

One of the last Liberals standing in Melbourne has laid the blame for the Victorian bloodbath squarely at Premier Daniel Andrews’ feet.

Embattled MP Alan Tudge managed to hold onto his seat of Aston in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs but suffered a 11.9 per cent slump in his primary vote.

Reflecting on the loss, Mr Tudge told Sky News many votes turned against the Liberals in part due to “Dan Andrews lockdowns”.

“We’ve had a pandemic, which was particularly hard in Melbourne,” Mr Tudge said.

“That had an impact on us because people were blaming us in Melbourne, in part for the Dan Andrews’ lockdowns, and not being strong enough to take it up to him.”

Re-elected Aston MP Alan Tudge. Picture: Kiel Egging

Mr Tudge said the anti-Chinese Communist Party rhetoric hurt the Liberals and acknowledged the party would need to rebuild trust and re-evaluate the language used.

The lack of policy differentiation from the Coalition and Labor’s “aggressive” campaign to “destroy” Scott Morrison’s also played a role, he said.

“They did that relentlessly over two years. We didn’t respond strongly enough. And we didn’t define Anthony Albanese strongly enough,” Mr Tudge added.

Saturday’s election saw the Liberals almost completely wiped off the map in Melbourne.

Asked if he would step aside in Aston to pave the way for Josh Frydenberg to return to federal politics, Mr Tudge laughed.

“I just got re-elected,” he said.

Seat too close to call

The Liberal Party is confident it will hang on to the eastern suburbs seat of Menzies but the result in the neighbouring electorate of Deakin could take weeks to decide.

A Liberal source said Labor scrutineers had not arrived for counting in Menzies on Monday morning, which they were interpreting as a concession.

Australian Electoral Commission data shows Liberal candidate Keith Wolahan is 624 votes ahead of Labor’s Naomi Oakley, after postal votes broke strongly in his favour.

In Deakin, former housing minister Michael Sukkar trails Labor’s Matt Gregg by 1077 votes, but postal votes have also favoured him so far.

Michael Sukkar’s seat remains on a knife edge. Picture: Jason Edwards

The Liberal Party believes it could take a fortnight to decide the result in Deakin, potentially including a recount.

“I’d rather be us than them but it really could go either way,” one source said.

Macnamara, held by Labor’s Josh Burns, remains on a knife edge but his team is hopeful he will get over the line in a three-cornered contest against the Greens and the Liberal Party.

Labor has already taken the eastern electorates of Chisholm and Higgins off the Liberals, with postal votes to determine whether Labor will clinch another two seats.

Mr Gregg told Labor faithful on Sunday he believed Deakin “wanted change”.

“We’ve got to be ready for whatever outcome, but it’s very exciting,” he said.

Although many postal votes are still in transit to their final destination, the Australian Electoral Commission was able to count some postal ballots on Sunday.

Ryan confident of a win

Independent member for Kooyong Dr Monique Ryan said she “was still getting used to” the idea of becoming a federal MP on Sunday afternoon.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” she said.

“I think that there is a momentum for change in the Australian political system.”

Dr Ryan said her first order of businesses in Canberra would be to enact action on climate change and to lobby the now majority Labor government and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to return the Biloela family to their central Queensland home.

Speaking in front of a crowd of volunteers and supporters, Dr Ryan said her grassroots campaign, that championed definitive climate change action, helped secure her win in the long-held Liberal seat amid the Liberal Party’s wavering emissions targets.

Dr Ryan’s climate policy has advocated for reducing emissions by 60 per cent by 2030 and increased use of electric vehicles.

Teal independent Monique Ryan is set to win the seat of Kooyong. Picture: David Crosling

“Climate was the single biggest issue for us and he (Mr Frydenberg) and his government hasn’t provided us with any vision for how they were going to act on it,” she said.

“He didn’t engage with and he didn’t talk about climate change in this electorate.

“His campaign was based on calling me names, on slogans on attack ads, and there was no vision there was no vision for what was going to happen with our economy.”

As of Sunday afternoon, no representatives from either major party mad made contact with Dr Ryan.

She said a “woman problem” had also plagued the Coalition throughout their decade-long term and led to their election defeat.

“He (Mr Frydenberg) didn’t talk about gender equity in this electorate.

“We have seen time and time again now the Morrison government treated people like Brittany Higgins, Grace Tame and Rochelle Miller.

“There’s still a significant gender pay gap, and there’s inequities and superannuation.

“We have a government now that is hopefully going to listen to what the people of Australia want.”

Originally published as Daniel Andrews says he’s no ‘apologist’ for Labor