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Jeff Kennett
Jeff KennettContributor

Jeff Kennett was premier of Victoria from 1992 to 1999, served two stints as Hawthorn Football Club president and was the founding chairman of Beyond Blue.

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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos AUGUST 5, 2020 : The city of Melbourne is on a knife edge after a record 725 coronavirus infections.With stage 4 lockdown now in place for 6 weeks it is vital not only for the state of Victoria , but the country of Australia that the infection numbers drastically decrease. An empty CBD looking north up St Kilda Rd. Picture : NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

Premier must outline his plan so Melbourne can recover

As the community overwhelmingly complies with the Premier’s stage four restrictions, he must clearly outline his virus strategy so we can make plans to rebuild confidence and employment in our city, which right now is a ghost town, writes Jeff Kennett.

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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 04: Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews looks on during a press conference on August 04, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia.  Retail stores across Melbourne will close to customers as further stage 4 lockdown restrictions are implemented in response to Victoria's ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. The new rules, which come into effect at 11:59 on Wednesday 5 August, will see the majority of retail businesses like clothing, furniture, electrical and department stores will be closed to the public for the duration of the stage 4 restrictions. Businesses will be able to operate click and collect services with social distancing and contactless payments. Supermarkets, grocery stores, bottle shops, pharmacies, petrol stations, banks, news agencies and post offices will remain open during the lockdown. Melbourne residents are subject to a curfew from 8pm to 5am, must stay within a 5km radius of their homes along with limits on hours of exercise, while all students will return to home learning and childcare centres will close. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Victoria has challenges but Andrews is the real disaster

Premier Daniel Andrews declaring Victoria to be a state of disaster is an insult to the 99.9 per cent of residents who have willingly complied with his restrictions while losing their jobs, businesses and economic security. The real disaster is the government he leads, writes Jeff Kennett.

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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos JULY 21st 2020:Picture NCA NewsWire / Wayne TaylorPremier Daniel Andrews press conference today.

Why masks feel like a symbol of defeat

The mandatory mask rule is a public display of our failure to combat the coronavirus pandemic. But what’s most disturbing is that the new direction comes with the threat of a fine, writes Jeff Kennett.

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(FILES) In this file photo taken on May 5, 2020 a woman wearing a face mask walks past a sign in the window of a food store announcing that the business is closed during a shelter in place lockdown order during an outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus in Arlington, Virginia. - The coronavirus arrived in the US early this year, followed by deaths, business shutdowns and layoffs, rendering a previously healthy economy unrecognizable. Data from the government and private surveys has shown that the economic damage is deep and may take years to recover from, but on Friday, a new Labor Department survey is expected to show unemployment spiking, perhaps to as high as 20 percent, a number few living Americans have ever seen before. Ahead of the report's release, AFP spoke to three people about how the virus has changed the course of their lives in the world's largest economy. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP)

We must live with this virus, not lockdown

It’s too early to say to what extent the Victorian government has contributed to the rising numbers of COVID-19 infections but what we must do right now is try to safely live with the virus while keeping the lights on in our state, writes Jeff Kennett.

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Lorne on Good Friday:PictureRob Leeson.

Real coronavirus test will be in October

I score premier Dan Andrews eight out of 10 for his handling of the coronavirus so far, but the real test for the economy will come when small businesses face another blow in October, writes Jeff Kennett.

Opinion
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews addresses the media with the latest COVID-19 news. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Andrews now faces his biggest test yet

Premier Daniel Andrews has done his job well throughout this time of crisis but society can no longer be held to ransom by COVID-19. From Monday, Victoria must start getting back to work and that’s when the real test begins, writes Jeff Kennett.

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Locked gates are seen at a Primary School in Melbourne's inner north, Monday, March 23, 2020. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has brought forward school holidays as a measure to slow the rapid spreading Covid-19 virus through the state. (AAP Image/James Ross) NO ARCHIVING

Things that should be open in Victoria by now

Our young kids should be back at school, restaurants open with restrictions and some employees returning to the office, because if not now, then when will Victoria’s coronavirus rebuild begin, asks Jeff Kennett.

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/journalists/jeff-kennett/page/15