Kennett: Premier Jacinta Allan should join outgoing Treasurer Tim Pallas to give Victorians a chance

First it was Dan Andrews riding off into the sunset as the state faced economic hardship, now it’s Tim Pallas. We can only hope the premier is next in line.

So, Tim Pallas has decided to leave the room when the economic challenges for the State still lie ahead of us.

He joins the orchestrator of Victoria’s worst financial condition ever, former premier Daniel Andrews in jumping ship, not having the courage to address the mayhem they have created.

Andrews’ deputy premier James Merlino jumped before the last election, but he did not have much influence with his Premier. Mind you, he has been appointed chairman of the Suburban Rail Loop Authority charged with building the train line to nowhere, a task for which he has no skills at all.

That only leaves Jacinta Allan, former minister for the infrastructure chaos and mismanagement we are now facing, Deputy Premier after Merlino left for a government appointed job, and now premier as part of the Andrews government that led Victoria to the social and economic cliff, from which the state can no longer avoid.

Treasurer Tim Pallas announces his retirement. Picture: NewsWire

All four, nice people to talk to one on one, and forget Merlino, who had no influence but a title. But Andrews, Allan and Pallas, who have pursued a path of expenditure on borrowed money, who gave priority to their infrastructure projects at the expense of those who work in the services that we expect governments to provide, they are collectively the definition of The Guilty Party.

We Victorians should never forget them.

Andrews and Pallas riding off into the sunset, not only to have their former colleagues manage the mess they created but leaving Victorians to continue to suffer the economic hardships caused by their mismanagement.

I said last week Victoria is a train wreck waiting to happen. Andrews knew this, Pallas knew and confirmed this with his departure.

This leads us to only one conclusion, Allan should go now. If not to accept partial responsibility for what she, the ALP, and her colleagues have done, then to give the government a new leadership, the opportunity to address the very real challenges that clearly Premier Allan is not.

Premier Jacinta Allan should join outgoing Treasurer Tim Pallas. Picture: NewsWire

If she does not resign, the ALP Parliamentary party should remove her as leader as soon as possible.

Andrews, Allan, Pallas, should be totally ashamed of themselves as parliamentarians, as individuals, for what they have done with the legacy they inherited.

It is a truism in life we want to leave the place in a better condition than that we inherited.

That cannot be said for Andrews, Allan and Pallas.

Each wanted to serve the state, each has contributed to our economic mayhem, two of the three having created the mess, have now deserted their obligations. It is time for the third to go and go now, to allow the Government to refocus and try and manage the mess created by the Guilty Trio.

Pallas is a nice guy but has been a disaster as a parliamentarian and Treasurer of Victoria. We will all be paying for his, Andrews and Allans generational pain and legacy they have left us all.

Jeff Kennett is a former Premier of Victoria.