Victorian Opposition Leader slams Dan Andrews’ plan

Victorian Opposition Leader Michael O‘Brien has roasted Premier Daniel Andrews’ plan to ease the state out of its lockdown.

Victorian Opposition Leader Michael O‘Brien has slammed Premier Daniel Andrews’ plan to ease the state out of its lockdown.

“Today Daniel Andrews has betrayed Victorians – denying us hope, ripping the heart out of small business + taking a wrecking ball to our economy,” Mr O‘Brien tweeted.

“Victorians have done the right thing. We deserve so much better than this.”

Asked during today‘s press conference what he’d say to critics like Mr O’Brien, Mr Andrews said he “doesn’t have the luxury of doing what’s popular”.

“If people want to find fault with the fact that I refused to pretend this is over just because they desperately wanted to be, and we all do, then that is a matter for them,” he told reporters.

“I‘m disappointed too. But you have to confront the reality you face. To do anything else is simply wrong and I will not do that. They will not, for the sake of being popular, make a decision that I know to be the wrong one because the data and the size and the experts tell me so.”

Today Daniel Andrews has betrayed Victorians - denying us hope, ripping the heart out of small business + taking a wrecking ball to our economy.

Victorians have done the right thing.

We deserve so much better than this.

— Michael O'Brien (@michaelobrienmp) September 6, 2020

Following on from his scathing tweet, Mr O‘Brien addressed the media, levelling further criticisms at the Andrews’ Government’s lockdown exit plan.

Mr O‘Brien has accused the Labor government of creating “the second wave of coronavirus in Victoria through hotel quarantine”.

Referring to having to figure out a way out of lockdown, he told reporters that it “shouldn't have come to this”.

“This is unnecessary, it shouldn't have come to this, because we shouldn’t have had a second wave, if hotel quarantine hadn’t been botched and we wouldn’t have had this prolonged second wave if the government had not made a complete mess of contact tracing,” he said.

“It makes no sense. We need to have a way to live safely as possible with this virus.

“Until we have a vaccine, until we have a cure, we need to be able to live with this virus and that means finding ways to safely reopen.

“If the majority of our infections are in hospitals and the majority of our infections are in aged care, why isn't more being done to keep those areas safe and why isn’t more being done to give the rest of Victoria a chance to open up, to give us some of our lives back.

“Victorians have been denied their family, their friends, their jobs, their small businesses, their liberties and even their lives, tragically.

“We deserve better than this, because we have done everything that has been asked of us, we have made the sacrifices that have been required of us.

“Today was supposed to be the day the Premier gave Victorians hope.

“Instead, he has truly taken away that hope and many Victorians are more despairing than ever before.

“Well, we deserve better than that. We've earned it, and the Premier need to explain to Victorians why he has let us down so badly.

“We are the only state in this situation, Victorians don‘t deserve that.”