Andrew Bolt: Daniel Andrews’ words are hypocrisy by any definition

In the wake of the anti-corruption probe into Labor, Dan Andrews nobly said as leader he would take full responsibility for his party’s conduct — but to him that seems to mean “not my fault”.

Victoria was already our most sinister state. Now the Premier has even changed the meaning of plain English.

Take Daniel Andrews’ response when an anti-corruption investigation last week found his Labor Party had an “unethical culture” leading to branch-stacking, forging of signatures, “rampant nepotism” and rorting of taxpayers’ cash.

“As leader of the party and leader of our state, I take full responsibility for that conduct,” Andrews nobly declared.

True, the investigation did not accuse Andrews of personally committing or knowing of misdeeds, but to me “take responsibility” means to take ultimate blame for letting that corrupt culture blossom.

But to Andrews, it apparently means “not my fault”.

It means just fixing what’s rotten now that it’s exposed.

In fact, he boasted he’d done it already: “As soon as we became aware of this unprecedented, shameful, disgraceful behaviour, we took action. I took action”.

But again, define “action”.

‘Hypocrisy’ is just one more word that doesn’t mean what it once did – not in Daniel Andrews’ Victoria. Picture: David Geraghty

Andrews last week said he meant he’d stamped out branch-stacking – faction bosses corruptly signing up members to Labor branches – by organising a federal Labor takeover of the Victorian branch, sacking a factional rival and kicking out fake members.

By pleasant coincidence, these “reforms” tightened his iron control over his party. Sweet medicine.

But Andrews did not discuss cracking down on Labor’s outrageous rorting of taxpayers’ money and dodgy grants, let alone promise to pay back a cent.

After all, the anti-corruption investigation – by the Ombudsman and the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission – found Labor rip-offs included making taxpayer-funded staff do jobs for faction bosses, hiring unqualified party hacks on the public dime, and giving grants to factionally aligned community groups that in some cases “failed to use the funds as intended”.

The opposition estimates these apparent swindles cost taxpayers $1.3m, but Andrews said Labor won’t pay back a thing.

“I accept full responsibility for what has gone on here,” he claimed, but again made clear he didn’t: “But this was not done to benefit the party or the government. This was done to benefit individuals”.

Hang on. This same Premier once passed a law to ensure victims of paedophile priests could sue the Catholic Church, even though the priests’ despicable crimes were to benefit no one but themselves, and most certainly not the church.

So one rule for the Catholics, another for Andrews’ government.

“Hypocrisy” is just one more word that doesn’t mean what it once did. Not in Andrews’ Victoria.