Martin Foley, Martin Pakula, Lisa Neville and James Merlino stepping away from politics

With Daniel Andrews now facing a major cabinet reshuffle, Labor insiders have revealed the reason why four senior ministers are stepping away from politics.

Four senior ministers in Daniel Andrews’ leadership team have quit cabinet ahead of the ­November state election, delivering a major blow to the Premier’s bid for a third term.

Deputy Premier and Education Minister James Merlino, Health Minister Martin Foley, Police Minister Lisa Neville and Sport and Tourism Minister Martin Pakula have announced their retirements.

They join Planning Minister Richard Wynne, who ­announced earlier this year he would not contest the election.

The mass resignation of the experienced ministers, as revealed by the Herald Sun earlier this week, will spark a major cabinet reshuffle, with the state’s fourth health minister in four years among appointments to be made mid-pandemic.

Premier Daniel Andrews will have new offsiders after the retirement of Martin Foley and James Merlino. Picture: Aaron Francis

Labor insiders say exhaustion and fatigue are among the factors weighing on the veteran MPs, with Ms Neville also battling serious health issues.

Their decision paves the way for a massive shake-up of the government’s leadership group, and comes at a time when serious challenges are emerging in hospitals and government services.

All members of cabinet retiring are lead ministers in a department, while four were part of the nine-member crisis council of cabinet set up during the pandemic.

Where Dan’s 2018 cabinet is now.

It comes as a series of scandals mean that a dozen of Mr Andrews’ original 2018 cabinet are now either gone or going.

Treasurer Tim Pallas is also rumoured to be leaving but he has denied he will quit.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said Victoria getting its fourth health minister in four years was a disaster. “No wonder we have a crisis in the health system,” he said. Liberal MP James Newbury said it was “like rats jumping from a sinking ship”.

Victorian Australian Medical Association President Dr Roderick McRae says he was ‘blindsided’ by Mr Foley’s resignation. Picture: Scott McNaughton

The full make-up of the new-look ministry is not likely to be confirmed until next week, but Mr Andrews is expected to hold a press conference on Friday morning to address the issue. The MPs remained tight-lipped about plans during parliament, while Mr Andrews had batted away speculation that mounted throughout the week.

Outside parliament, Mr Wynne said it would be a “rejuvenation” of cabinet and said the Deputy Premier’s work in education had been “quite extraordinary”.

While Mr Wynne had already announced he would retire at the end of the year, he had been expected to stay in cabinet — but will quit now and take a massive pay cut to ensure a smoother transition.

Retiring ministers gave speeches to parliament that spoke of proud moments, with Mr Pakula saying this year’s events calendar was a “stunning success” off the back of the effort to vaccinate the population during the pandemic.

Victorian Australian Medical Association president Roderick McRae said he was “blindsided” by Mr Foley’s resignation, and it would be big shoes to fill due to his respect in the sector and the continuing pandemic chaos.

“It’s not ideal to leave during a pandemic,” Dr McRae said.

Originally published as Martin Foley, Martin Pakula, Lisa Neville and James Merlino stepping away from politics