Pigeons will get their revenge if Andrews wins election and has a bronze statue of himself cast

Be careful how you cast your vote, if you don’t want a statue of Daniel Andrews cast in bronze and publicly displayed forever.

A statue of Dan Andrews would be “the ultimate insult to the people of Victoria” after his divisive rule. Picture: Rebecca Michael.

If Daniel Andrews wins next weekend’s Victorian election, he will need just 88 more days in office to be able to cast a bronze statue of himself.

It takes 3000 days as Premier to join the likes of Sir Henry Bolte and Sir Rupert Hamer outside the Premier’s office near Spring St.

The problem for the Premier though, is it would become a bronze reminder for millions of Melburnians just how much they dislike this man.

And if Daniel Andrews wins next Saturday and serves a full term, he will become Labor’s longest-serving Victorian leader.

The statue of Sir Rupert Hamer at Melbourne’s Treasury Place. Picture: Picture Kelly Barnes.

It begs the question: How does someone so despised last so long as a popularly elected Premier and within his own party? On Sky News this week, fellow columnist Peta Credlin called it “the cult of Dan Andrews”.

I suspect she nailed it.

A statue to the most divisive figure we have ever seen in this state will be the ultimate insult to the people of Victoria. At least the pigeons could get some revenge.

Ironically, the statue idea came from one of his most strident critics, former Premier Jeff Kennett.

Kennett himself fell short of the statue defining win with his shock loss to Steve Bracks in 1999.

The Coalition was smashed in the regions, lost 15 seats and no one including those of us on air that night saw it coming.

It’s tempting to think history might just repeat itself with the target for the Opposition a mighty 18 seats, but this is no ordinary election.

On election day Daniel Michael Andrews, who turned 50 this year, will have been in charge for seven years and 357 days.

It feels like a lifetime.

The Sir Henry Bolte statue outside Treasury Place gets a good clean.

During my working life in Victoria, I have interviewed and reported on five Labor premiers starting with John Cain Junior and ending with Daniel Andrews.

In between there have been some outstanding Labor leaders, with Steve Bracks and John Brumby the standouts in my view.

Neither were faction obsessed and both had the political smarts to put the interests of Victorians first, second and third.

The two standout failures for different reasons are Joan Kirner and Andrews.

Way back in August of 1990 the then Deputy Premier Joan Kirner invited newly promoted 3AW morning host Neil Mitchell and me to lunch in the city. I was program director at 3AW.

It was at a long gone basement restaurant famous for steak and she was already there when we arrived. Mrs Kirner got straight to the point and told us she was thinking of sticking her hand up to take over as Premier.

John Cain had lost the support of the party and she believed she had the support of enough of the party room and wanted to tap our brains about how we thought she would go.

It was 32-years-ago but my memory of the conversation — and I’m sure Neil will correct me if I’m mistaken — was that we were largely supportive and encouraged her to have a go.

What an error of judgment that was. She served for two years and 57 days and left Melbourne and Victoria a smoking ruin, known back then as Victoria: the rust bucket state.

For all her faults though, she left office as a political failure but never hated and despised like Daniel Andrews.

Kirner destroyed the financial lives of Victorians while Andrews has destroyed much more than that.

Former Premier, the late Joan Kirner, left Melbourne and Victoria a smoking ruin.

He has turned Victorians against each other in an ugly way we have never seen before with his zealous Covid lockdowns.

He has turned the police of this state on the public they serve.

He has ruined the education of hundreds of thousands of school students with long school lockouts and remote learning.

He has destroyed families, who turned on each other, unable to deal with the mental and financial stress his actions created.

Daniel Andrews ripped the heart out of the CBD, a city more than once voted the most liveable in the world.

He has stacked the institutions with Labor mates, hollowed out his own political team to purge enemies and challengers and has insulted independent inquiries by not answering questions and pretending to have no memory.

Frightened of robust questions, he dodges mainstream media and instead spends millions of your dollars on Facebook and other social media.

Financially, he has crippled the state, leaving billions in debt for our children to pay back when he is long gone.

Dan Andrews turned Victorians against each other during lockdowns. Picture: Ian Currie

But if he wins next Saturday’s election, he could have a bronze statue of himself made.

Spruiking the removal of level crossings on train tracks as being akin to paving the roads with gold he really leaves this state sadder, poorer, more divided and downbeat than anywhere else in this great country.

The Premier won’t read this, and I’ll get smashed by the Dan cheer squad for bagging their hero but with a week to go people need reminding of what damage he has done.

I’ve already voted, with the local Labor candidate in my seat requesting a selfie and asking if I might change my vote and support him instead.

If Daniel Andrews wasn’t your leader mate, you might be half a chance.

Go well next Saturday Victoria and make your vote count.

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Originally published as Pigeons will get their revenge if Andrews wins election and has a bronze statue of himself cast