Jeff Kennett: Now is not the time for a Health Minister on L plates

We should be worried that at a time when our hospital systems are crumbling like never before, our Premier has installed a Health Minister on training wheels.

Recently Premier Daniel Andrews rearranged the deckchairs on his ship, the Government of Victoria.

It was all done for political reasons rather than the interest of those who governments are elected to serve, the people of Victoria.

Whether you agree with the politics of this government or not, the Premier stripped four of his most experienced ministers of their portfolios.

James Merlino, deputy premier and education minister, Martin Pakula, minister for tourism, racing, sport etc, Martin Foley, health minister and Lisa Neville, police minister, have all decided to conclude their parliamentary careers at the upcoming November election.

Yet at a time when Victoria is facing so many social and economic challenges, why were all four told they could not serve out their parliamentary careers as ministers until the election?

For better or worse we have lost experienced ministers, to be replaced by novices, who will not even get to understand their portfolios before the election.

Take the new Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services, Mary-Anne Thomas.

Victoria’s newest Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Her previous ministerial service was only 18 months as minister for regional development and agriculture.

No experience, no training, for perhaps the third most important portfolio in government, at a time when the health system is under challenge as never before.

We are being told the next two months could be the worst we have ever faced with Covid and flu cases stretching our hospital systems and the attending staff to the limit.

Our ambulance service is increasingly on Code Red – simply unable to meet the needs of the community, simply because of demand, staff shortages and ramping at hospitals.

Martin Foley was certainly looking tired when announcing his decision to retire at the election, but the public would have been better served with an experienced, tired minister over the next few months given what we are going to face, than by I am sure a very personable new minister, but one on training wheels.

The same could be said of the other three ministers. Add to those four, our Treasurer Tim Pallas has decided to take an overseas trip months out from the election.

What this does tell me quite clearly, as has been the case now for eight years, no matter how senior you were or are as a minister, individually or collectively, you have no influence within cabinet, and certainly none with the Premier.

The most senior ministers do as they are told, the new ones elevated to replace them, will be totally owned by the Premier for their elevation.

Former Health Minister Martin Foley.

In the tiles on the floor at the entrance to the Victorian parliament, in the vestibule are the words, “Where no counsel is the people fall but in the multitude of counsellors there is no safety”.

There is no safety in numbers here in Victoria for the public.

We are a one-man state. Total control. Yet no acceptance of responsibility for failures.

Then the Premier blames others, e.g., former health minister Jenny Mikakos, and the recently departed Jane Garrett.

I do not think your and my interests have been well served by stripping them of their ministerial responsibilities before the next election.

It has been another case of the political interests of the Premier been given a higher priority than those the government was elected to serve.

Last weekend I visited a friend in one of Melbourne’s largest public hospitals.

My first impression was there were more security officers on duty than I have ever witnessed. All very polite and professional, ensuring when no one enters the hospital if they are not fully vaccinated and wearing masks.

To protect not only the patients but also the staff.

When talking to some of the staff members, and later some medical professionals, it is clear we in Victoria are on the verge of a further reduction in the services our hospitals can provide.

Not only are medical professionals and staff exhausted, but many have left the sector altogether.

Many have left for interstate, many have left for less stressful jobs in other disciplines. Some for better remuneration and better working conditions.

It is why we need an experienced health minister now, not one wearing L plates. In fact, we have such a person.

As a former Health Minister Daniel Andrews should take some responsibility for the crisis he has partly created. Picture: David Crosling

Daniel Andrews was health minister for a number of years, why does he not take responsibility as minister for the crisis he has partly created?

What is clear as thousands of Victorians are leaving the state the competition for staff, both in the public and private sector is intensifying.

Higher wages alone cannot fill the vacancies on offer.

The government is now offering incentives for people to stay in their current jobs or return to Victoria to work and that is not working.

For instance, the government recently promised 3000 extra workers in mental health, launched a major advertising campaign to attract those new workers, but stopped the campaign when the response was nonexistent.

Now they are offering $50,000 for qualified early childhood teachers for certain preschools in Victoria.

Sadly, Victoria’s reputation for past controls does not help retain or attract workers to the state.

For instance, Victoria had 262 days of lockdown compared to South Australia’s 10.

Every other state had much less than ours, and sadly we have a reputation problem, and people are concerned about what the future holds.

All up we are in for one hell of a winter and perhaps beyond. Stay fit and well.

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Finally, I read that five local MPs in and around Geelong area wrote to the Council of Greater Geelong expressing their concern at the lack of progress with some major projects in the area, and in particular the city’s preparedness to be a site for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

I know from experience you do not want to believe everything you read, but I have had a long association with and interest in the City of Geelong, and it is a great city which has dramatically changed for the better over the last 30 years.

But if there is any truth in what has been said, the government should consider sacking the council and appointing commissioners to run the city for the next three or five years. Not administrators who sit above the elected councillors, but two or three commissioners to make the decisions necessary to address the concerns being aired, if those concerns are real and justified.

It worked in the ’90s when government and the commissioners opened the city to the bay, and that started the rejuvenation of the city. It can happen again.

Have a good day.

Jeff Kennett is a former premier of Victoria