Steve Price: The pain of Dan Andrews lingers a year after he quit
Daniel Andrews, the most despised politician Victoria has ever known, quit as premier a year ago this September 26, leaving a smoking ruin of a once great state behind him.
Opinion
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Daniel Andrews, the most despised politician Victoria has ever known, quit as premier a year ago this September 26 – a little over three weeks from now.
It was lunchtime on a Tuesday of Grand Final week and was a decision that brought many Victorians to tears – of joy. Finally, the bloke who sent us broke, locked us down longer than anywhere else in the world and crushed the dreams of millions was out the door.
No matter he was leaving a smoking ruin of a once great state behind him there were still – inexplicably – people singing his praises as a Labor hero.
Current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, according to Andrews himself, was “shocked” when told of the resignation. The PM then went on the ABC to pay tribute to his political ally and old friend.
“Daniel Andrews is a man of great conviction, enormous compassion, and a fierce determination to make a difference.”
Then came the honest appraisal of what Albanese really admired about Andrews – he said, “You can measure his contribution to nine years, three election victories – the last one with an increased majority.”
So, what the PM really admired about his old mate was his ability, despite the disasters he was presiding over to keep getting elected time and time again.
Albanese of course conveniently chose to ignore the fact that the Victorian state opposition were – and remain – divided, ordinary and un-electable to this day.
His tribute went on and hasn’t aged well with the PM describing Andrews in glowing terms. “What you can really measure him on (Andrews) is the fact that he is a builder, he has built enormous infrastructure benefits for Victoria.”
At this point forgive me if I feel like throwing up.
Surely Albanese isn’t that stupid. Melbourne under Andrews tore up $1.1bn taxpayer dollars NOT to build the East West Link back in 2015. Melbourne to this day remains one of the few truly international cities without an airport rail link and every other major infrastructure contract signed while Andrews was Premier is over budget and over time.
The Herald Sun in June this year – so nine months after Andrews walked out – reported that road and rail projects across the state had blown out by $12.7bn costing us taxpayers an extra $83.6 million A DAY. These are long term major projects signed off by the Andrews Cabinet with the major players still there in Jacinta Allan and Tim Pallas.
To call Andrews a builder as Albanese did is an insult to every Victorian and I haven’t even started yet on the Commonwealth Games fiasco which prompted me to make this harrowing journey back over the Andrews years.
Back on that September day last year the PM concluded by referencing the health system which he said Andrews had rebuilt because of his passion for health policy developed while he was health Minister.
Clearly the Prime Minister hasn’t spent much time here as the Victorian health system falls apart due to underfunding, with a crisis in acute care, ambulance ramping costing lives and revelations this week that the current Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas had to call for $422m in urgent emergency funding to pay the bills and health staff wages.
To describe Andrews as a passionate advocate for health and a genius infrastructure champion is to ignore the facts that show Victoria is now drowning in debt and saddled with politically motivated giant infrastructure projects it simply cannot afford. At the top of the list is Andrew’s pet baby, the Suburban Rail Loop, now expected to cost in excess of $216bn – although no-one really knows how much it will cost, or if it will ever be finished.
Andrews’ successor Jacinta Allan also praised her former boss back in that September week last year calling him “the fabulous Daniel Andrews.” She said, “he’s been driven by his values every single day he has served the Victorian community.”
The new Premier then quickly moved on vowing to be more consultative and made the pointed promise to “listen to people”.
Quite the slap!
Hardly a ringing endorsement and you get a sense she knew exactly what sort of basket case the “fabulous” Daniel Andrews was leaving smoking and smelling in her lap.
That brings me to the Commonwealth Games cancellation and the smug bragging from Glasgow in Scotland – as revealed in the Sunday Herald Sun last weekend – who have picked up the cancelled mess our former Premier presided over. As reported it will be the taxpayers of this state that will be funding the 2026 event in Scotland after we were forced to handover $380m in compensation to the Commonwealth Games Federation.
That was in July last year – a couple of months before the ex-Premier bailed – claiming the Games as he had planned them would cost us north of $7bn. Scotland are running a trimmed down version with less sports for a reported cost of $220m.
None of this adds up and clearly – as many have suspected – the 2026 Victorian model of staging the Games in regional Victoria was nothing more than a blatant attempt to secure the votes of regional Victorians at the election the previous year. How else can you explain why the alternative of a slimmed down Games using some of the best existing sporting venues in the world in Melbourne wasn’t pursued.
Daniel Andrews seems to have no shame.
He crushed the hopes of young Australian athletes training for a home based 2026 event, then tore up – as was his habit – millions of dollars of Victorian taxpayers’ money while walking out the door and dumping the smelly mess in Jacinta Allan’s lap.
And with that annoying grin on his face, he walks away with a lifetime pension estimated to be in excess of $300,000 a year – tax-free for life – acquired under an old defined benefits superannuation scheme since scrapped. Add to that a driver for life as well and $200,000 a year for travel and office costs.
Add to that little package the awarding of Australia’s highest civilian honour the Companion of the Order of Australia for eminent service to the people of Victoria bestowed on him this year and celebrated by the Albanese government
A year on the PAIN OF DAN continues.
Likes
Figures this week showing farm production up four per cent to third highest ever levels – must be climate change.
Peter Dutton rightly describing the Victorian Liberals as Labor Light.
Finals footy finally getting underway after the useless week long break.
Dislikes
Lord Mayor hopeful Nicholas Reece announcing a Kevlar clad army to patrol Melbourne’s CBD streets 24 hours a day – it won’t happen.
State libraries in Victoria asked to quiz children as young as five about their sexual identity part of a Rainbow Toolkit.
Victoria’s health system at crisis point and a broke state government panicking.
Originally published as Steve Price: The pain of Dan Andrews lingers a year after he quit
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