Premier Daniel Andrews must stop this attack on Victoria’s social fabric
PREMIER Daniel Andrews has made several controversial decisions during his tenure, but his attack on the CFA threatens our social fabric, writes Jeff Kennett.
Opinion
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THERE is nothing worse than a former incumbent telling his successor what they should or should not be doing. I have rarely criticised the government of Victoria and its leader, Daniel Andrews. I like him on a personal level even though I don’t always agree with his policies. And on three issues, I strongly disagree with his actions.
The tearing up of the East West contract was part of Andrews’s pre-election commitments. He also stated that if he won office and tore up the contracts it would not cost Victorians a dollar.
Of course, he found that it would cost Victorians at least $600m. In the end it cost us $1 billion. At that point Andrews could have exercised flexibility and built the East West Link and not waste $1b. Instead, he stuck to his policy at a huge financial cost to the state and to its international reputation. Having burnt $1b, he continues to ask the Federal Government for funding assistance for a range of projects.
Secondly, our Premier is a great supporter of the CFMEU, one of the most militant unions in the country. With union membership on a massive decline, Andrews has decided to support those unions that are his greatest supporters, personally and financially.
While I might disagree with the priorities the government has given to infrastructure projects, I support such projects because they increase productivity and create jobs.
The recent granting to CFMEU workers of up to an extra $75 a week in penalty rates when they work on major projects will make the desalination plant and its trendsetting deals pale into insignificance. Not only can the state not afford it but the agreement doesn’t guarantee completion of the projects without interruption.
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I will lay you a dollar that as those projects get under way, the CFMEU will down tools for even more of your and my money.
Both the East West and CFMEU decisions are final and political. We can agree or disagree — but the CFA dispute is worse and more damaging as it attacks the fabric of Victorian life.
Daniel Andrews is engaged in a blatant payback to United Firefighters Union leader Peter Marshall. The UFU openly supported the ALP at the last election.
Victoria without volunteers is a state without a heart. Whether those volunteers are tourism guides, delivering meals on wheels, court workers, firefighters, volunteers in charitable organisations, members of the CWA, so the list goes on, the truth is without volunteers our state would be considerably poorer.
We do not have the financial capacity to replace volunteers with paid workers and you can’t replicate the warmth and generosity volunteers bring to their tasks.
The CFA is an extraordinary organisation. It has some paid officers among its ranks, but in the main it is a volunteer workforce of up to 60,000 Victorians that we depend upon to fight fires, big and small, in the outer suburbs and into our rural communities.
These are men and women, young and old, many representing generations of family volunteering.
That the Premier wants to put that workforce of volunteers offside and cede control of CFA operations to Peter Marshall is an affront to all volunteers — worse, it’s another sign of Andrews’s contempt and disregard for the position he holds.
This is not what Victoria voted for in 2014. If Andrews had put this up as a policy, he would not have been elected. Country Victoria would have been solidly against him. I understand that government has priorities not all of us will agree with. But to attack the fabric of our very being is wrong, unacceptable, and unforgivable. Full marks to Jane Garrett for surrendering her ministerial position in defence of the CFA. Most ministers would have buckled.
Lucinda Nolan is the CEO of the CFA and is a person of great experience in a disciplined force. The CFA board members also appear to be experienced people, some with firefighting experience. They have been sacked for doing their job.
Can it be the minister in charge of the CFA, the CEO and the board are all wrong and Daniel Andrews and Peter Marshall the only ones correct?
Andrews and his late father prided themselves on being farmers, people of the country. But this action against the CFA does not look like the work of a country person.
Henry Bolte would not have done it. Nor would have previous Labor premiers Bracks and Brumby. Even a fellow called Jeff Kennett wouldn’t tolerate the argument for such a blatant attack on our rural way of life.
Andrews should remember there are many metropolitan citizens who come from rural backgrounds, or have rural relatives. His attack on a Victorian institution is not just an attack on rural Victoria but an attack on the sensitivities of many in the cities.
He certainly does not seem to care about his federal colleagues, but that is not surprising. Bill Shorten is a member of Labor’s Right while Andrews owns the Left. But his actions are a win for Malcolm Turnbull and his government.
Andrews may have destroyed any chance Shorten had of winning on July 2 but he is also destroying an institution whose members have, at times, given their lives for us.
It’s lucky supply has been granted, Daniel. I would have taken you back to the people so you could seek a mandate for this attack on the fabric of Victorian life.
Have a good day.
Jeff Kennett is a former premier of Victoria
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