Victoria election 2022: Liberal MP slammed for joke about Daniel Andrews’ spinal injury

A Liberal MP has been slammed for a joke he made on social media about Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews falling down steps and seriously injuring himself.

A Liberal MP has been slammed for a joke he made on social media about the fall that left Premier Daniel Andrews in hospital with a serious spinal injury.

Shadow Housing Minister Richard Riordan took to Facebook on Sunday to share some thoughts about Mr Andrews’ fall at a rental property on the Mornington Peninsula in March 2021.

The Victorian Premier suffered five fractured ribs and an acute compression fracture of the T7 vertebra when he slipped on some wet steps on his way out of the house.

Over the weekend, the Herald Sun published a story identifying the exact location where the fall took place. Prior to the publication confirming the location, speculation over where the Premier had obtained his injury had become the subject of conspiracy theories shared by Victorian Liberal MPs, among others.

Mr Riordan wrote that Mr Andrews should avoid visiting the Great Ocean Road because there are “quite a lot of stairs”.

Shadow Housing Minister & Liberal MP making jokes about someone’s serious spinal injury and stoking the fires of conspiracy. @r_riordanmp should be better than this.

Also, it’s bad strategy. Leave the focus on .. I don’t know. Your party’s policy today? pic.twitter.com/JkmIjcvXgv

— Raf Epstein (@Raf_Epstein) November 6, 2022

“Dear Mr Andrews in light of the terrible luck you have on holidays, I would suggest if you wish to try somewhere other than the Mornington Peninsula, please don’t come down to the Great Ocean Road,” he wrote.

“We have the worlds (sic) best views, but most spots have quite a lot of stairs, and our region is renowned as a popular bike riding area.

“As nothing is ever your fault I can’t guarantee you will have an accident-free visit.

“I can suggest Coober Pedy. It’s pretty flat and not a lot of bikes owing to the heat.

“I’m sure Visit SA can suggest some other flat, safe spots for you to go.”

The post has not been deleted despite receiving plenty of backlash.

The ABC’s Raf Epstein wrote on Twitter that the MP’s post was “stoking the fires of conspiracy”.

“Shadow Housing Minister and Liberal MP making jokes about someone’s serious spinal injury and stoking the fires of conspiracy,” he wrote.

“[Richard Riordan] should be better than this. Also, it’s bad strategy. Leave the focus on ... I don’t know. Your party’s policy today?”

Others were equally unimpressed.

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Daniel Andrews seriously injured himself when he fell on slippery steps last year. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Luis Enrique Ascui

“Hope you don’t have too many constituents who have seriously injured themselves tripping over or falling from a short height,” Carissa McKimm wrote beneath Mr Riordan’s post, “as you clearly think injuries sustained in this way by people are a joke. Gutter politics.”

Another user, Phillip Connell, wrote: “Hey Richard, as a person that’s suffered with a work injury that has turned my life upside down over the last year-and-a-half and is still ongoing, all I can say is ... it’s really poor taste to poke fun at someone’s misfortune.”

Speaking on Sunday about the Herald Sun’s story, Mr Andrews said: “Can anyone tell me what the point of the story is? Anyone? Are you going to interview the stairs? People can go as low as they want. I’m not going there with them.”

Victoria’s then-shadow treasurer Louise Staley was roundly criticised in June last year for furthering conspiracy theories about the Premier’s fall.

Ms Staley issued a media release where she outlined 12 questions she claimed Mr Andrews “must answer before he comes back to work”.

They included: “What time was the ambulance called”, “Who called the ambulance”, “Did the police attend” and “Has Daniel Andrews been interviewed either formally or informally by the police in relation to anything that occurred over that long weekend?”

In a statement, Ms Staley said: “Daniel Andrews has been on sick leave for 91 days. He has continued to be paid as Premier despite not doing the job.”

Polwarth MP Richard Riordan has not removed a joke from his Facebook page about Daniel Andrews injuring himself after falling down some stairs. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

She hinted that a “cover-up” was involved despite there being no evidence to suggest anything of that nature.

“If there is no cover-up then there is no reason not to provide answers to these simple questions,” she said.

Mornington-based physician Dr Peter Morris was among those on social media to criticise the line of questioning from the Victorian Opposition.

“Gutter politics from Louise Staley and [Opposition Leader] Michael O’Brien’s Liberal Party,” he wrote. “Diving into and criticising people’s medical issues because your political party is impotent is about as low as it gets.”

Nina Springle, a former deputy leader of the Victorian Greens, wrote: “You’ve got to be kidding me. Liberal Victoria have nothing else to offer than this rubbish? The man broke his back; he didn’t stub a toe. If you break your back, Louise Staley, should we dock your pay while you recover?”