Cancer shock fuelling Guy’s healthcare mission

In his first sit-down interview ahead of the election, Matt Guy reveals the cancer battles driving him to fix the state’s healthcare system.

Matt Guy has spoken about what drives him in his second tilt at leading the Liberal Party. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Victorian Liberal Leader Matt Guy has revealed his father is battling cancer, with the family’s experiences inside hospital fuelling his mission to fix the state’s struggling health system.

In the first sit-down interview ahead of the November state poll, Mr Guy has opened up about what drives him for a second tilt at the top job and the coalition’s priorities if it forms government.

He told the Sunday Herald Sun he would be a “builder” but entice private sector investment to ease pressure on the state budget, and that he would work with all groups – including Labor-aligned unions – as long as they were acting “constructively” for the state.

In a wide-ranging interview the two-time Liberal leader promised to:

LOWER energy bills by quarantining locally-produced gas for domestic use;

FOCUS on curriculum basics in schools to help students falling behind due to lockdowns;

INITIATE the process for a royal commission into the pandemic before the year’s end, and;

BOOST public sector efficiency rather than take an axe to staff numbers.

Matt Guy, with wife Renae and two of his three sons, Alex, 9, and Sam, 11, with dog Wally. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Mr Guy says he feels more comfortable in the role this time around. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Mr Guy said he had not deliberately changed his style since the coalition’s 2018 election loss, but felt more comfortable in the role since taking over from Michael O’Brien as leader.

“I think if anything this time I’m more myself,” he said.

“I have done it before, I’m not interested in lines and spin, I’m not interested in that and I don’t think people are into that anyway, I think they just want to know who we are, who I am, and what we want to do.

“You want to know why I’m back, it’s because I think that this government, more than any other, is the most self-centred, arrogant government I have seen in Victoria’s history.”

The Opposition Leader, who has been in state parliament since 2006, said the experience of families during the pandemic had shaped his approach to education and mental health policies.

He said he had been taking regular walks and hosting street corner meetings around the community and people were “angry”.

This meant the task of rebuilding and recalibrating after the pandemic was important and a “change of style” was required at the top.

But Mr Guy also revealed a personal crisis that has changed his view of the needs of the system.

“It’s about rebuilding the health system, my dad is unwell, he’s very unwell at the moment, he’s got cancer,” he said.

“We see the health system first-hand, a lot of us do, and it annoys me and it angers me that after everything we have been through the government’s response is they only want a pat on the back.

“Victorians deserve a pat on the back, not the government.”

Mr Guy said his dad was “alright” and had just finished his first round of treatment for prostate cancer.

“He’s 79 now but my grandfather lived to 99 – their father – so I told him, he’s got 20 years to hang on.”

Mr Guy says health and cost of living are the biggest issues facing Victorians. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Renae Guy, who has been campaigning by her husband’s side since he took over the party leadership for a second time last year, said the impact of the pandemic often hit home directly.

The couple spoke candidly about the issue after playing basketball at their Templestowe home with their youngest son, Alex, who is 9.

“It’s harder to get them outside now,” Ms Guy said.

“They had had two years of routine being set by being inside.”

Mr Guy said that issue was incredibly difficult for all kids in their formative years.

“That’s not political, that’s reality,” he said.

“I walk a lot and encounter a lot of people and it’s on their minds, particularly parents, because they are starting to notice development differences in their children.”

Mr Guy said a focus would be placed on fundamentals to learning such as English, maths and science to get things back on track, taking aim at a “cluttered” curriculum.

But he said health and cost of living were the two most pressing issues for Victorians.

“The country is going through a profitless boom, there’s a lot of jobs but people are making less money and that’s a massive problem when energy prices are out of control,” he said.

He said the coalition’s gas policy would quarantine a certain amount of locally-produce gas for domestic use like in Western Australia, with a cap on prices to “reduce the cost of gas bills in Victoria”.

On integrity, Mr Guy pledged to continue to pursue the government and brushed aside the scandal of his former chief of staff requesting private donations from a business.

“The premier’s been to three corruption inquiries, I’ve been to none,” he said.

He said the budget must be brought under control but “it’s not 1993” so sweeping cuts were not needed, and “we need to grow our way out” of the pandemic.

“I don’t want to cut the public sector. I want to make the public sectors output more efficient and more productive,” he said.

“So I want people to know that if we’re going to invest the more money than we’ve ever put into the health sector, we’re getting the best results.”

Originally published as Cancer shock fuelling Guy’s healthcare mission