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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 - AUGUST 10: Members of the Australian Defence Force walk through Fitzroy Gardens on August 10, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia.  Metropolitan Melbourne  is under stage 4 lockdown restrictions, with people only allowed to leave home to give or receive care, shopping for food and essential items, daily exercise and work while an overnight curfew from 8pm to 5am is also in place. The majority of retail businesses are also closed. Other Victorian regions are in stage 3 lockdown. The restrictions, which came into effect from 2 August, have been introduced by the Victorian government as health authorities work to reduce community COVID-19 transmissions across the state. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Dan’s state of emergency sends a dangerous message

When Daniel Andrews sends out messages like he did on Monday, seeking an extension of a state of emergency until next year, it sends ripples of fear down the spine of most Victorians. How can our Premier not see how his words will cause the rapid drying up of jobs, security and hope, writes Jeff Kennett.

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Mother and child. Picture: istock

How lockdown is raising the burden on women

Less than halfway through Victoria’s second lockdown, women are increasingly accessing mental health and financial counselling while crisis calls are spiking. With no certainty as to when or how we will emerge from restrictions, it’s time for Dan Andrews to offer messages of hope, not despair, writes Jeff Kennett.

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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.

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/journalists/jeff-kennett/page/16