‘Sick to my stomach’: Backlash over Daniel Andrews receiving the nation’s highest honour

Families of Covid victims have voiced disgust at Daniel Andrews’ King’s Birthday honour, while Jacinta Allan issued a statement. Have your say.

Former premier Daniel Andrews has controversially received the nation’s highest honour for his service to Victoria despite presiding over deadly Covid errors, imposing the world’s longest hard lockdown and leaving the state with crippling debts.

The Council for the Order of Australia, the body which signed off on the award, has also been forced to clarify there was no conflict of interest in the process given the council’s Victorian representative is Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary Jeremi Moule.

Mr Moule, the state’s top bureaucrat, was appointed to the premier’s department by Mr Andrews.

The awarding of the Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) to Mr Andrews has been slammed by families of pandemic victims after 768 people died due to the Andrews government’s botched hotel quarantine program and bungled contact tracing.

Mr Andrews, who has never properly owned up to any of his mistakes, was one of just six Australians to be awarded the AC as part of this year’s King’s Birthday honours.

The longest serving Victorian Labor premier was recognised for his “eminent service to the people and parliament of Victoria, to public health, to policy and regulatory reform, and to infrastructure development”.

Daniel Andrews has been awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia (AC). Picture: Penny Stephens

Premier Jacinta Allan said her predecessor led the state through one of its darkest chapters.

“Daniel Andrews made an enormous contribution to public life and shaping the state of Victoria,” she said in a statement on Monday.

“He was the longest serving Labor premier in the state’s history and fourth longest serving premier. Dan led through some of the most difficult and challenging times.

“He also led some big and important reforms which have shaped our state’s history – such as voluntary assisted dying, equality reform and the decriminalisation of abortion when he was Health Minister.

“And then there were the big projects too – driving reform and delivering big infrastructure and energy projects which will shape the state for decades to come.”

News of his award, officially announced at 10pm on Sunday, leaked out on social media last week, prompting widespread anger and discussion in political and civic circles.

The office of Australia’s Governor-General David Hurley refused to reveal who nominated Mr Andrews, but a spokesman said the Council for the Order of Australia – an independent body of 19 people – gave the final recommendation on who should be given the award.

The council is chaired by KPMG partner Shelley Reys AO and its Victorian representative is Mr Moule.

A Council of the Order of Australia spokesman on Monday said: “Mr Moule was not in the room when the nomination was discussed”.

He said council members generally advised their colleagues of any prior relationship with a nominee.

Decisions were then made by “consensus”, informed by the original nomination and subsequent independent research.

Sebastian Agnello, whose mum Carmela died of Covid during the Epping Gardens Aged Care outbreak, said the award made a mockery of the honours.

“Daniel Andrews was the Premier in charge and (there) has been no accountability for anything he has done,” he said.

“You are responsible for the actions you’ve taken. He was the Premier, he was in charge and he made the decisions, but where’s the accountability? I feel let down and disappointed. There’s no accountability.”

Frank Micallef lost both his parents, Charlie and Carmen, within 31 hours during the deadly second wave.

\Sebastian Agnello holding picture of mum Carmela Agnello. Picture: David Caird

He said news of the award made him “sick to my stomach”.

“If you want to reduce the credibility of an award like that, give one to him,” he said.

“Even many of his most ardent followers can see or are starting to question the legacy that he left. There’s no credibility to the awards if someone like him gets it. None whatsoever.”

Mr Micallef said he was appalled at the way the pandemic was handled by the state government – particularly the bungled rollout of hotel quarantine – and condemned the “lack of honesty” in the months and years after.

“The consequence of it all was that not only did more people die than necessary, but they died alone, they died without seeing their loved ones,” he said.

Mr Andrews’ handling of the Covid was widely regarded as disastrous with Victoria suffering the most deaths of any state and enduring the longest hard lockdown in the world, at 262 days.

Botched contact tracing and a fatal hotel quarantine program was deemed responsible for 768 deaths and 18,418 cases which prompted a formal inquiry in which Mr Andrews refused to answer key questions over his government’s pandemic response.

He also came under fire for his controversial decision to ban children from outdoor playgrounds.

Frank Micallef lost both his parents during the second wave in Victoria and said he had been left ‘sick’ by Daniel Andrews’ honour. Picture: Wayne Taylor

During his nine years as premier Mr Andrews enjoyed broad support for his bold infrastructure agenda and socially progressive politics.

Key policies included reforms on voluntary assisted dying, safe access zones for women’s health services, childhood vaccination, and medicinal cannabis.

He also introduced free kinder, decriminalised public drunkenness, introduced a spent convictions scheme and spearheaded a historic deal with traditional owners to see Victoria become the first state to begin treaty negotiations.

But by the end of his rein, his controversies far outweighed his successes, particularly his government’s inability to curb spending and tackle debt which was forecast to soar to a whopping $171bn by 2026-27, double the amount of NSW and the equivalent of almost $70,000 for every household, when he resigned in September.

The cost of Victoria’s Big Build has blown out almost $18.8bn since 2014, when Mr Andrews first came to power.

Frank Micallef’s mother Carmen, 92, who died after contracting Covid. Picture: David Caird

His decision to cancel the 2026 Commonwealth Games led to international outrage, threatened the future of the events, and cost taxpayers at least $589m.

He is also still embroiled in a marathon legal dispute over a 2013 accident in which his SUV, driven by wife Catherine, hit a 15-year-old cyclist and left him fighting for life, amid concerns over the Andrews’ actions in the aftermath of the collision and their claims it was the teen’s fault.

In a statement, Mr Andrews said: “I’m honoured to have been nominated for this award and grateful to every Victorian who contributed to some of our state’s best times and who worked so hard to see us through our most challenging.

“I thank the Victorian community for their support for me and my team in leading our state for nine years. That remains the greatest honour of my life.”

In another controversial award, Mr Andrews’ Labor WA counterpart Mark McGowan was also made an AC.

Mr Andrews said he was honoured to have been nominated for the award. Picture: David Crosling

Other public figures to receive the award were former Labor leader, the late Simon Crean and Samantha Mostyn, who becomes Governor-General next month.

Another senior Labor figure, former federal minister Greg Combet, has been made an Officer of the order of Australia (AO).

Monday’s list marks the first time in more than a decade that four honorees from the same party have been recognised at the same time.

No Coalition figures were included in Monday’s list of high-achieving Australians, although there were three among this year’s Australia Day honorees.

All up, 737 Australians were honoured on the King’s Birthday list, including an equal number of men and women, and one recipient whose gender was not specified.

Mr Crean’s widow Carole Crean said his recognition was “very emotional” for the family, and her husband, who died last year aged 74, would have been “very honoured and proud”.

“He was extraordinary in how he actually touched people’s lives,” Mrs Crean said. “Everyone he met felt that he was interested in them … and if they had a problem, he would attempt to help them.”

She said she became aware of some of the ways Simon impacted people’s lives after the state funeral for him last July, when his constituents came up to talk to her.

“They weren’t exactly things I knew about, because he didn’t beat his own drum,” she said.

Rounding out the list of AC recipients was epidemiologist and cancer researcher Professor Karen Canfell and the composer and festival director Sir Jonathan Mills.

Prime Minister congratulates Dan

June 5, 2024: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will deliver a speech to the ACTU congress in Adelaide. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Anthony Albanese on Monday congratulated everyone who received honours in the King’s birthday awards.

The Prime Minister said the process was independent and at arms length from the federal government.

“Both Daniel Andrews and Mark McGowan were very successful from the people who matter to their respective states in Victoria and Western Australia,” Mr Albanese said.

When asked if he understood why the families of victims of the Covid pandemic were angry at the decision to give Mr Andrews an award, Mr Albanese said: “I respect everyone’s right to have a view”.

“Politicians are never on 100 per cent support, nor are former politicians,” he said.

Senior Victorian government minister Natalie Hutchins said Mr Andrews’ award was “well deserved”.

“Certainly the Victorian government doesn’t determine these awards, these are national awards but I think it’s well deserved,” she said on Monday.

“He had gone way beyond the remit of his day-to-day job during the Covid pandemic and I congratulate him.”

Ms Hutchins said the fierce backlash was “just the nature of politics”.

“I’m pretty sure that Jeff Kennett has one of these awards … I do remember the same public outcry when he got his award,” she said.

“People that did vote for him, want him to get it. Those that didn’t, didn’t want him to get it. That’s just the nature of what happens when politicians get these sorts of awards.”

Ms Huthcins said she was sympathetic to any family who lost a loved one during the pandemic.

“It wasn’t the government’s creation, as in the disease, and I know the former Premier did his best to protect all Victorians from the spread of Covid,” she said.

Ms Hutchins said she didn’t know who nominated Mr Andrews, or whether the nomination came from within the government.

She said she last spoke to Mr Andrews in the weeks after he resigned from the top job.