Jeff Kennett: Daniel Andrews’ day of reckoning within sight

If Daniel Andrews is re-elected, he will be emboldened to run an even more secretive, autocratic government and turn on those who dared question his authority.

The day of reckoning for Daniel Andrews is almost upon us. Picture: David Crosling

When Victorians voted for Daniel Andrews in 2014, we expected – regardless of politics – a standard ALP Bracks or Brumby style government that respected the time-honoured Westminster system.

A model where the government was collegiate. Where decisions were made by Cabinet, and where premiers, ministers and the government accepted responsibility for achievements and failings.

How wrong we were.

Make no mistake, our democratic form of government has been replaced by a secretive autocracy.

Simply put, it means one person governs with absolute power – and with it, the sacred Westminster system is openly trashed.

It hasn’t just happened over the past few months and years. It began, hidden from sight, almost from day one.

Our first indication was the issue of the Red Shirts, where the ALP abused that system by secretly using public funds to campaign in their quest to be elected.

Once they were exposed, they denied their practice, and attempted to keep it out of the public’s view for four years.

They even went as far as the High Court of Australia, using our money to fight their illegal practice.

Labor and Daniel Andrews thought they could do anything they saw fit. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Ultimately, they were found guilty. But while they repaid what they stole they did not return the millions of dollars of our money they used to fight the legal cases in so many courts.

But a pattern had been established. Labor and the Premier thought they could do anything they saw fit.

We know this arrogant attitude was not confined to the Premier’s day job.

It was exposed when the Premier, then Opposition Leader, was faced with a serious accident involving his family and a cyclist.

After the accident, no breathalyser test was taken from the driver of the car.

The car was not impounded. Andrews and his wife quietly drove back to their holiday house.

They were not interviewed by the police about the accident until some weeks later.

A young man was seriously injured.

Why did the police not treat that accident as they would any other?

Second, was the “I’ll do what I want and whatever suits me” style of growing hubris, and disrespect of the democratic process, which was on display in the oversight involving the hotel quarantine disaster that led to the tragic and unprecedented loss of 801 Victorian lives.

Andrews appointed the head of the inquiry, the Hon Jennifer Coate, a former judge in the Family Court.

The inquiry into that disaster should have had the weight of a criminal inquiry given 801 Victorians died. It would have, had it been a private business with just one death.

By any measure, the so-called inquiry sank to a new low in the history of the Westminster system.

Can you believe that when the Premier, some of his ministers and senior public servants were asked “who appointed the NSW firm that won the contract to provide security at the hotel” the answer was unanimous.

With one voice they all said, “we can’t remember”.

It seemed they followed an agreed brief to answer in that way.

But the critical question remains – why did Ms Coate not instruct, demand the Premier to go away, find out who was responsible and report back to the inquiry?

It didn’t seem there was a strong enough of a search for the truth. It seemed like a whitewash by a soft inquiry, not adequately honouring the 801 who had died.

Like other autocratic leaders, Andrews shifted the blame to officers, in this case Health

The blame for the hotel quarantine fiasco was lumped on Jenny Mikakos. Picture: Ian Currie

Minister Jenny Mikakos, for the failings of his oversight of the administration at hotel quarantine.

The focus instantly left the Premier and directed attention onto Ms Mikakos.

Mikakos had been a loyal minister. But in the Andrews world she was expendable. He needed to self-protect.

Mikakos had no option but to resign from government and then parliament.

More recently – and of relevance to character and governance – has been the Premier’s “incident” he describes as a “fall” which hospitalised him.

The Premier’s public explanation doesn’t seem to make sense. Nor has he attempted to clarify the circumstances.

If the Premier was leaving Sorrento at 6.30am to go home then on to a function, why was his driver not waiting in front of the house to pick him up?

Why, if as we saw in a moving TV interview with both the Premier and his wife Catherine, who said: “I was so worried about him, he was turning blue, I thought he was going to die?”

An ambulance was called at 6.36am. It was dispatched at 6.47am and arrived at the house 14 minutes later at 7:01am – having had to travel 1km.

For a Premier on the verge of death? 25 minutes after the first call to the ambulance?

If Andrews was turning blue and on the verge of dying, why were his needs assessed to be anything other than the highest rating – and not the lesser code of Code 2 which means acute but not time critical. But was he not about to die?

Finally, Andrews said his security detail – two trained police officers – lifted him up off the grass and took him inside.

Why would they do that- knowing Andrews had spinal injuries and the ambulance personnel were on their way?

It is yet another unprecedented example of an autocratic Premier and his team controlling the agenda and events to protect his political landscape.

Of course, there are issues, different opinions on policies the Andrews government has pursued, but the bigger unanswered question is around Andrews’s political and personal credibility, and to his trustworthiness – the manner in which he leads the state.

The damaged windscreen after the Andrews’ car was involved in a serious accident with cyclist Ryan Meuleman. Picture: Supplied

Have you ever heard of a head of government anywhere in the country where either they personally, or their government, are the subject of four corruption inquiries at IBAC or its equivalent?

We don’t know the subject matter of these inquiries. They will be kept in a political vault of secrecy until after the election. Why?

Remember, NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell had to resign over a bottle of wine. Another had to resign because of a person’s behaviour with whom she was having a personal relationship.

How do we judge the Red Shirts affair, the car accident, the loss of 801 Victorian lives, the “stairs incident” and the four corruption inquiries?

This election was never going to be about Labor versus the Coalition.

It was always about Andrews’ autocratic, secretive and arrogant style of governing.

It’s on clear display with the longest Covid lockdown in the world now judged to have been unnecessary, while causing profound damage to families, young schoolchildren and thousands of families who own and run businesses.

It’s been on display with his propensity to give expensive infrastructure a higher priority than our health system, or the condition of our roads, or education.

It’s been on display with the debt he has built irresponsibly that will be borne for generations by our children and grandchildren. It will have to be repaid. It’s not simply a line in a budget paper.

While some will decide their vote on the policy priorities of the Andrews government, the bigger issue is in the character of the Premier.

His autocratic style, and what the future may hold if he is re-elected, as he continues to treat us as cannon fodder for his needs rather than being here to serve us.

The day of reckoning is within sight. We have just one chance in four years to rebalance the scales, to return to the open, accountable Westminster system of governing.

If we decide not to do that, so be it.

But there is one thing I can assure you. If he is re-elected, Andrews will be empowered and emboldened to be even more autocratic.

He will turn on those who have dared question his authority.

So, just one chance in four years. It’s time to take back control of our lives. What sort of State do you want to live in?