Welcome back, Daniel Andrews

We’re pleased to see Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is back into the fray, sounding cheerful and looking well in his video on Sunday. It has been a long, painful haul since March 9, Premier, and we’re glad you’re out of the brace and that your fractured vertebra and ribs have healed after such a nasty accident. Taking time to recover properly from serious accidents is important. And we agree that emergency care staff are the “best of us” and that the kindness of strangers is extraordinary.

The coming weeks could be a painful adjustment, as you said recently. Sunday’s video confirmed what a consummate media performer you are. But we suggest that you avoid the kind of 90-minute performances we saw during last year’s long Covid lockdown. Standing still in one spot to speak for so long could be painful for everyone. Perhaps your $10,000-a-year pay rise may dull some of it.

Your recent tweet that you “can’t wait” to be “back to getting things done” made sense. Victoria needs plenty of things done after the May budget, which put much of the state off-side without your spin to sell it. A payroll tax surcharge on businesses; higher stamp duty on $2m-plus properties; a windfall gains tax for developers to pass on to new home buyers; and higher land tax, at heavy cost to small business, were job killers.

It’s time for your red star cap to reappear in Johannes Leak cartoons.