Brett Sutton’s new honour an insult to all Victorians

Brett Sutton being named Victorian of the Year is an insult to every person in this state, especially the hardworking nurses, doctors and paramedics who were at the coalface of Covid.

Brett Sutton wins the Victorian of the Year Award. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Professor Brett Sutton being named Victorian of the Year this week is an insult to every person in this state.

To even consider him on a list is such an appalling lack of judgement that those responsible should hang their collective heads in shame.

For 262 days through six lockdowns, it was this man Sutton who Premier Andrews told us was making these decisions to lock us in our homes.

To award the professor whose health advice included banning children from playgrounds, forced families to miss the funerals of their dead loved ones and the births of their children is disgraceful.

How will every nurse, doctor, paramedic and aged care worker who were at the coal face of Covid feel today that a bureaucrat who never even stepped foot inside a hospital was given a gong.

Brett Sutton’s bearded face became as hated as Dan Andrews North-Face puffer jacket.

Epidemiologists nationwide condemned his hard-arsed approach to Covid calling it over the top and unnecessary. It destroyed many Victorians livelihoods and smashed their futures as businesses collapsed under the weight of deserted streets.

Daily media conferences with Sutton standing to Dan Andrews right hand side will trigger for many of us memories we have long tried to suppress. Picture: Paul Jeffers

To award a man whose ego clearly got ahead of sensible science is a slap in the face to all the great Victorians who came before as Victorians of the Year.

Great Victorians like Bert Newton, Judith Durham, Mike Brady, Ron Barassi and Dame Elisabeth Murdoch. People of talent, integrity, humility and common sense. Victorians who cared about other Victorians.

Sutton’s implausible honour will trigger for many of us memories we have long tried to suppress.

Memories of those daily media conferences with Sutton standing to Dan Andrews right hand side smiling away while another life-draining lockdown was announced.

It made most of us sick to the stomach when moronic supporters of Sutton described him as a sex symbol and had T-shirts made up with his face printed on them.

What they didn’t realise and what this so called Victorian of the Year didn’t want to admit was that he was being used as Dan Andrews fall guy.

The Premier shrugged his shoulders and said he was acting on the health advice and that advice was coming from Sutton.

Just how former Premier John Brumby could call what Sutton did “great leadership” and describe him as “the trusted public face” of the pandemic shows how out of touch Brumby is.

Professor Sutton is reported as wanting to decline the Victoria Day Council’s insulting award to him.

He should decline it and tell this useless council who made such a dreadful error in judgement to take it back.

Victorians … all Victorians … deserve better than this ridiculous slap in the face.

Originally published as Brett Sutton’s new honour an insult to all Victorians