Victorians deserve better than the Andrews government

How can Victorians let Daniel Andrews ‘stomp all over their rights?’ Picture: David Geraghty

Where I live, the pandemic response has been grossly mismanaged. There has been one misstep after another, leading to the twin outcomes of mounting death and economic devastation. The man in charge is conceited. He stubbornly clings to power — he even desperately attempts to expand his power — even though it is blatantly obvious that he is not up to the job.

He never apologises for his failings. His loyal followers cling to his every word and offer him support. They are seemingly devoid of independent thought.

Do I live in the Donald Trump heartland? No, I live in metropolitan Melbourne.

Many governments around the world were caught out in the first wave of the pandemic. But the second wave in Victoria was completely caused by government incompetence.

The hotel quarantine “system” was quickly slapped together on the basis of cronyism and blatant union favouritism. I can see that. I cannot fathom, and I cannot put into words, why it was not given any oversight or management by the Premier, Daniel Andrews, the Minister for Health, Jenny Mikakos, or Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton.

The consequences of this mismanagement and lack of accountability have been catastrophic.

In Victoria, contact tracing is totally inept. For a month, the Andrews government told us that healthcare workers were getting COVID-19 from the community. No one in their right mind would think this is true. Healthcare workers are contracting the virus at a rate that is 20 times higher than the general community, so surely this is impossible. COVID-19 cases among healthcare workers go in that great big pile of “mystery cases”.

In Victoria, PPE management and use in healthcare and aged care is woefully inadequate. Frankston Hospital and Peninsula Health are among the worst. Before the stage-three lockdown, the Mornington Peninsula had zero cases of COVID-19. Six weeks later, we have more than 70 and almost all of these have come from Frankston Hospital.

The stage-four lockdown never should have happened. Citizens of metropolitan Melbourne are being treated like criminals. Conditions of house arrest are more lenient. There has been no explanation of these draconian measures. There has been no oversight. Parliament is not allowed to sit and nobody is allowed to question decisions. We are just supposed to accept them. And, unfortunately, too many Victorians have accepted them.

Which brings me to my final point and the real “deal breaker” for me. Victorians who continue to support the Andrews government have lost my respect. I cannot look them in the eye. I can no longer live in their midst. I cannot relate to someone in a Make America Great Again cap who loves Trump after all of the destruction he has caused. And I cannot relate to a Victorian who lets Andrews stomp all over their rights, ignore democratic processes and make a bloody mess of everything. Where is their self-respect? Why don’t they think they deserve a better government?

Well, I do deserve a better government. Once the borders are open again, I will go in search of it.

Professor Elizabeth A. Kendall is retired from an academic career in information technology and engineering at Monash University and RMIT. She is originally from the US and has lived in Melbourne for 30 years.