Backroom Baz: Dan Andrews still knows how to pull a crowd

Daniel Andrews can still pull a crowd, with the former premier spotted pumping up the audience about the benefits of the Suburban Rail Loop at a fundraiser for Labor MPs.

Former premier Daniel Andrews pulled a big crowd at a recent Labor fundraiser. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake

For a bloke who’s been out of politics almost 18 months, Daniel Andrews can still pull a crowd. And didn’t Baz’s phone run hot after the former premier appeared as guest speaker at a fundraising event for Labor MPs Steve Dimopoulos, Tim Richardson and Nick Staicos during the week.

Those in attendance say Andrews hasn’t lost any of his statesman-like flair, pumping up the crowd about the benefits of the Suburban Rail Loop – the transport-housing project started under his watch.

“There was more than one person that commented on the bloke’s impeccable ability to communicate a message,” one guest said.

“It drew quite a few comparisons to his successor.”

To say Andrews has been a tough act to follow, in a myriad of ways, would be a point not disputed by those working alongside Jacinta Allan.

Still, it was what happened after he left the fundraiser that really had people talking – the auction of a signed poster of the Covid-era premier.

Witnesses said a bidding war broke out, pushing offers well above $4000 and prompting questions about whether the auction breached Andrews’ own political fundraising laws.

You’ll read about it here if it did.

Questions over mass exodus from Minister’s office

Mass resignations are not so uncommon in politics, but they are typically the portent of an impending leadership challenge – just ask Boris Johnson or Malcolm Turnbull.

What then to make of the apparent exodus from minister Harriet Shing’s office in recent months?

There has been a mass exodus from Harriet Shing’s office. Picture: Valeriu Campan

An email obtained by Baz, after it had circulated the government’s staffing ranks in recent weeks, showed 10 vacant positions promising the opportunity to work alongside the minister in roles ranging from executive assistant to senior adviser.

Shing is one of the government’s hardest working ministers, no doubt, but sources say what comes with a tough work ethic are tough expectations.

Have they been too challenging for some? Working across Shing’s housing and Suburban Rail Loop portfolios would be a slog, even for the most diehard politico.

Tiny but mighty life post Spring St for former press secretary

What does life post Spring St look like? It’s the question Baz often ponders when hardworking politicos, used to the gruelling pressure of working 18-hour days, set off for new adventures.

For former Daniel Andrews press secretary, Jamila Fontana, it looks like a 15-seater bar in Brunswick East.

Jamila Fontana and partner Zac have opened Tiny Bar in Brunswick East. Picture: Supplied

Fontana, who rode shotgun with Andrews throughout Covid and the 2022 election campaign, has opened the aptly named Tiny Bar with her partner Zac.

The comfortable neighbourhood bar has already become a favourite new haunt for Labor tragics. Baz looks forward to sampling the wine. Cheers, guys.

Sign of the times for Libs?

Baz couldn’t help but laugh walking past the Opposition party room in Parliament House this week.

The signs outside the opposition party room in Parliament House. Picture: Supplied

Given the concern among Victorian Liberals about the ability of the team to hold it all together until the 2026 general election, and the entrenched and unsurpassed ability of the party to eat itself alive with a succession of own goals, the signs erected at the door seemed apt.

The party room has certainly been a danger zone for some time, but with the Opposition surging in the polls and a fresh team to kick off the year, some Libs hope those days are now long gone. Not all, mind. Watch this space.

Battin tells Liberal MPs to dress for the part

Straighten up and fly right. That’s the message to Victorian Liberal MPs Baz is told, with leader Brad Battin keen to leverage off the momentum built by last week’s by-election result.

The party increased its number in parliament for the first time in 15 years after stealing the seat of Prahran from the Greens, and the massive whack Labor copped off its primary vote in Werribee has given the Libs a sniff of government.

And Battin, Baz is told, doesn’t want to take any chances. So MPs have been told to polish their shoes, straighten their ties, pull up their socks and start looking like a real alternative government.

Of course, there’s policy work, candidate selection and public messaging to master as well, but in the quest for power Battin doesn’t want to take any chances.