Shannon Deery: Royal mourning gives Dan Andrews a chance to reset before state election

For now, the Queen’s official mourning period will buy some down time, be a useful distraction for Dan’s scandal-plagued government.

The pomp, ceremony and tradition that have followed the death of Queen Elizabeth have unquestionably distracted from Victorian politics.

Depending on which side of the fence you sit, that’s either a welcome interlude in the election campaign or an annoyance.

It’s been 70 years since a new monarch was proclaimed by the crown’s representative in Victoria.

Twelve thousand people gathered in 1952 to hear then governor Sir Dallas Brooks proclaim the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the people of Victoria.

From the steps of Parliament House he solemnly read the proclamation and in six minutes the pageantry was over, according to reports of the time.

A lone and unidentified baritone sang God Save the Queen.

Governor Linda Dessau proclaimed King Charles III’s accession to the throne. Picture: David Crosling

Members of parliament, cabinet ministers and civil service chiefs were on the official dais. Lady Brooks, the governor’s daughter Jeanette and the wives of many MPs wore black mourning dresses.

Albeit in front of a smaller audience, the ceremony was repeated at Government House on Monday as Governor Linda Dessau proclaimed King Charles III’s accession to the throne.

There was no legal requirement for the proclamation, but doing it emphasises the link of the state government with the crown, and the fact it’s not subordinate to the federal government.

The traditions that have played out since Queen Elizabeth’s death on Thursday, and those still to come, will be welcome distractions for the state government.

Before her death the government was facing intense criticism over its handling of a damning report on Victoria’s Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority.

Unlike most scandals to have plagued Daniel Andrews since coming to power in 2014, he was having trouble shaking this one off.

The report, by Victoria’s Inspector-General for Emergency Management, revealed that at least 33 Victorians died following ambulance failures between December 2020 and last May.

The fact the government sat on the report for three weeks and released it on a footy finals Saturday attracted fierce criticism.

Daniel Andrews was facing intense criticism over its handling of a damning report on Victoria’s Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority. Picture: David Crosling

Andrews himself was dubbed a coward for not personally releasing it and then failing to face the media for three days.

His claim that the extent of how overwhelmed the system would become during the pandemic was not foreseeable was also rebuffed by Inspector-General Tony Pearce.

“History showed what was going to happen, unfortunately, the funding did then not compensate for what we knew was coming,” Mr Pearce said in response.

The report was just one facet of an array of problems with Victoria’s health system that had the government on the ropes.

It was also facing calls for a third inquiry into its red shirts rort amid fresh claims the initial investigation may have been compromised.

The Queen’s sudden death has diverted attention from these issues. It has also given the government the chance for a reset, and slowed any momentum the opposition was starting to build.

It has held no press conferences since Friday, and will avoid parliamentary scrutiny this week with the Victorian parliament adjourned for one week as a mark of respect.

Both houses will sit today so members can be sworn by oath or affirmation, followed by a condolence motion. When parliament returns next week, for the last time before the election, it will be a shorter week.

The first day will be used for a motion of condolence for Queen Elizabeth, both houses adjourning for the day at the motion’s conclusion.

It will end with a public holiday, and even if parliament sits it is almost certain the Premier will be in Canberra for a national memorial service.

Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh on their last visit to Melbourne.

While the clear air might be welcome for the government, the Queen’s death also poses some potential headaches.

Not least of which is how to pay tribute to her 70-year reign in a lasting way, which is precisely what Andrews said last week Victoria would look to do when the time was right.

How that looks is anyone’s guess. The prospect of a statue seems unlikely, given the ongoing controversy around many of the city’s current statues, which are increasingly seen as celebrating colonialism and whitewashing the histories of Indigenous people.

Historian Bruce Charles Scates argues that the mere existence of such tributes serves “to legitimise narratives of conquest and dispossession”.

More likely would be the naming of something in the Queen’s honour.

There are remarkably few Victorian places, buildings or things named after Queen Elizabeth, particularly when compared with other states and territories.

There’s the Queen Elizabeth Centre in Ballarat, the Princess Elizabeth Junior School For Deaf Children in Burwood and the Victoria Racing Club’s Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Could we have the Queen Elizabeth Children’s Hospital?

After all, she did open it on a visit in 2011.

Could the new campus earmarked for Werribee under a Matthew Guy government be named in her honour?

Could one of our racetracks take her name?

Whatever the decision, any lasting tribute to the Queen is bound to be a headache for the government.

But for now at least, the official mourning period will buy some down time, and a useful distraction.

Shannon Deery is state politics editor