Jeff Kennett: Awards council response on Dan’s high honour yet another disgrace

Right from the moment Dan Andrews was elected, he has been involved in controversies. Those responsible for giving him the nation’s highest award have failed to act in the public interest and should resign.

I received a bland response from the Official Secretary to the Governor-General in response to my correspondence to the chairwoman of the awards secretariat Shelley Reys, complaining about the recent awarding of Australia’s highest award to Daniel Andrews.

Ms Reys did not have the courtesy to respond to my four substantive complaints.

They were that Mr Andrews’ award was rushed through, and no reason was given. Every other nominated person has to go through a validation exercise that may take up to two years before a decision is made. Not Mr Andrews. Why not?

Second, any award should be given only to people who contribute to the community over and above the employment for which they are remunerated. Mr Andrews to my knowledge did nothing more than discharge his job as Premier.

Third, any recipient should be recognised on the basis that their contribution to society has improved the quality of life for some or many.

Right from the moment Dan Andrews was elected, he has been involved in controversies contrary to the traditions of the Westminster system of government. Picture: Jason Edwards

Clearly Mr Andrews failed this test by close to $200bn of debt, which generations of the community will pay for while the quality of services the government should be providing declines.

Finally, right from the moment Mr Andrews was elected, he has been involved in controversies contrary to the traditions of the Westminster system of government that is practised in Australia.

the Andrews-Allan government has entered into infrastructure projects, badly managed, for which in some cases there has been no business case made public. Picture: Nicki Connolly

The “red shirts” abuse of public funds that the ALP fought all the way to the High Court, using taxpayer funds before they were found guilty.

The car accident on the Mornington Peninsula that is now subject to a court case, and let’s hope it proceeds to court so the truth will prevail.

The so-called accident at the Peninsula beach house which has been continuously covered up.

The loss of more than 800 Victorian lives because of the Andrews-driven hotel quarantine. When questioned on who was responsible for some of the decisions on that, Mr Andrews and his ministerial colleagues responded with the answer “I do not remember”. Though his memory was good enough to continue in office.

Then finally the destruction of Victoria’s economy, where the Andrews-Allan government has entered into infrastructure projects, badly managed, for which in some cases there has been no business case made public.

More than 800 Victorian lives were lost because of the Andrews-driven hotel quarantine. Picture: Ian Currie

Ask yourself, is this a person who qualifies for Australia’s highest civilian honour?

Ms Reys and her council members have failed to act in the public interest and should resign, for no other reason than out of respect for the office they occupy. The award to Mr Andrews is an insult to every other recipient of an Order of Australia honour.

The art of morale-building

It is deeply concerning that three of Australia’s senior arts organisations are in trouble, the Queensland Ballet, Opera Australia and, here in Victoria, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

All have management issues. All are having financial challenges because of the cost-of-living impact on their ticket sales, more recently the impact of the sadness that is occurring in the Middle East – the failure of some of those organisations to have a model in place that allows them to stick to their knitting instead of being hijacked by individuals pushing their own views on the conflict.

Each of these organisations relies on ticket sales and government support, which I accept is an investment in our cultural base. Most citizens would not appreciate the contributions over decades from members of the Jewish community who are successful in business and have consistently and generously given in the millions to the arts.

Not only to the three institutions I have mentioned but to galleries here, in Canberra and interstate. Some of that philanthropy has been withdrawn because of the totally vindictive campaign directed not only at the Jewish community as a whole, but at individual families who have been so generous.

Victoria right now needs all sections of the arts to lift our morale and confidence as we travel through this very difficult period.

For those mature enough to remember, when we were rolling out our economic reforms in the 1990s, we invested heavily in the arts and sport, to illustrate that while adjusting the economic base of the state, we could prove that we Victorians were winners, and we could rebuild confidence in Victoria.

It worked, the MSO in particular allocated extra funding to lift the number of musicians to full strength.

Victoria right now needs again both sport and all sections of the arts to lift our morale and confidence as we travel through this very difficult period, and the impact of the cost of living on families and small businesses in particular.

Let’s hope the leaders of our arts organisations can resolve their issues quickly, that they can continue to attract patrons at the box office, and that we can find a way through understanding to bring back to the fold those who have been so generous in the past.

Have a good day.

Jeff Kennett is a former premier of Victoria