Daniel Andrews must hand over leadership so we can start rebuilding

Premier Daniel Andrews must stand down so Victoria can start the process of rebuilding without the ghosts of the past.

Hopefully, the pain suffered by so many over the last 18 months is behind us. Never again will Victoria have to be totally locked down because the government has relied entirely on medical advice when such advice should have been received and then weighed up against other competing factors.

Hopefully, the government has learnt as a result of deadly administrative failures of the past that an autocratic leadership style does not serve the public well.

Never again should a chief health officer be given such influence over the community.

Even earlier this week we saw the CHO say “we are all in this together”. Rubbish! He has not had to close his business or worse, lost it. He has not joined the ranks of thousands of young casual workers who have lost both jobs and income.

Premier Daniel Andrews with James Merlino who has taken political heat out of the pandemic while in the role of Acting Premier. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Andrew Henshaw

This is the great and obvious difference between how the pandemic has been handled in NSW and Victoria. In NSW they managed the virus from day one. In Victoria we, through our inability to manage hotel quarantine, stuffed it up so badly, the politicians hid behind the coat tails of health officials ever since.

There can never again be a state or metropolitan wide lockdown.

Now we hear the Premier is returning to work at month’s end.

We wish all people who have been ill or hurt as a result of an accident a return to good health.

Hopefully, Daniel Andrews will have had time to contemplate the damage he and his government’s failures have impacted on families and businesses.

Hopefully, he and his colleagues might have reflected on the answers they gave at the inquiry into his government’s management of our hotel quarantine.

Hopefully, they have found their memories and will never again repeat the awarding of contracts to at least one totally inappropriate contractor in NSW who was paid tens of millions of our dollars. They will ensure they put the best people available in senior positions within the bureaucracy rather than just promoting individuals who are supporters of the ALP.

The cost of the last 18 months has been terrible. Socially, economically and reputationally. It will take years for Victoria to get back to where we were 18 months ago. Sadly, for many in business there is no going back. They have lost what they have taken years, decades, generations to build.

That said, many have got through the last 18 months with no more than considerable inconvenience.

Mr Andrews getting his Covid vaccine. Picture: Twitter

But for 25-30 per cent of our community it has been devastating.

The challenge now is to re-open society. To rebuild.

The decision by the government on Monday that AFL football cannot be played in front of any supporters is both proof positive of inconsistent policy but also ignores the need to rebuild confidence within the community.

The government needs to start reducing state debt rather than further adding to it. To start encouraging economic growth rather than stifling it with the new taxes on property.

The government must again invest in those aspects of life that give hope and employ particularly our young.

I have said for years our major cultural and sporting events were our great outdoor university. They employed thousands of people mainly our young, but they provided enjoyment for millions more.

Such events, galleries and theatres have been closed in the main since February last year.

Our universities decimated with all the negative flow-on effects from their lack of overseas students rippling through our community.

Victoria must earn the right to ask for our national borders to re-open safely.

Of course, the government must complete the vaccination of all our citizens as quickly as possible.

As I have said before, our greatest and most urgent challenge is to stop the population drift out of the state.

People are leaving for employment opportunities up north because they have had enough and perhaps worst of all, because they fear what the government might do next.

There is no evidence of a progressive growth policy that offers certainty. There is no buzz, no excitement about what Victoria’s future might hold.

So, the question has to be asked, has the government and its leaders got the ability to now turn the state around?

Andrews should take his lead from Nathan Buckley and stand aside to give Victorians a new voice. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Daniel Pockett

It is true many ministers have worked long hours over the last 18 months. Many are tired. The Premier himself has lost the confidence of many in the community and any sense of trust.

Yes, he will return in a few weeks, but how can he possibly change himself into something he is not – the Pied Piper Victoria now desperately needs.

He is not trusted by many sectors in the community. They simply do not believe him on so many issues. When he does return, every time he appears on our screens, he will remind us of the gross mistakes under his leadership. The loss of lives, the failure to accept any responsibility, the damage to businesses and people. Not to mention the damage to the state’s economy and reputation.

Over the last three months, James Merlino as acting Premier, has taken a great deal of the political heat out of the market, even if people are hurting because of the latest lockdown.

If we are going to rebuild Victoria quickly, to rebuild confidence, to stop people choosing to live elsewhere, our leadership team needs to be refreshed.

We can’t remove the government, and they are unlikely to resign. So this government will remain in office until the election in November next year.

So, it is time for Premier Andrews to take one for the Team. Team Victoria, his own team, the ALP.

He needs to do a Buckley and stand down. Resign. Hand over the reins of leadership to a new face. One who can start the process of rebuilding.

Whether that is James Merlino or not will be a decision for the Labor government, but he has earnt the right having been a loyal deputy and given his performance over the last few months to be seriously considered.

But every time Daniel Andrews appears publicly or worse, starts telling us what to do, he will remind the public of the damage his style of leadership has rendered on the state.

He is a liability to his government, colleagues, and the state. His injury was unfortunate, but it gives him the time to bow out with some grace, rebuild his health and return to the sport he loves, golf.

There is a time when one should say goodbye. That time is now in the interests of the state.

Politically, I hope Daniel stays! But that is being selfish. The state is bigger and more important than any individual.

Stay well.