Daniel Andrews defends Labor MPs who partied in Bali during bushfire crisis

Daniel Andrews has defended a group of MPs after video emerged showing them partying in Bali during the bushfire crisis.

Jenny Mikakos, Steve Dimopoulos and Nick Staikos, at the Motel Mexicola in Seminyak, Bali.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has defended his Health Minister Jenny Mikakos as an “outstanding” minister doing an “outstanding job”, after a video emerged of Ms Mikakos and three other Labor MPs dancing and drinking in Bali amid Victoria’s bushfire crisis.

Ms Mikakos and backbenchers Nick Staikos, Steve Dimopoulos and Jackson Taylor were filmed at Seminyak bar Motel Mexicola on December 28, the night before Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp ordered holiday-makers to evacuate East Gippsland.

Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien said Ms Mikakos “should have been on deck”, but the minister said she was on a privately-funded trip with friends and their partners which she cut short to return to Melbourne before a state of disaster was declared on January 2.

The Premier says he's standing by Health Minster Jenny Mikakos, after she was filmed, along with a group Labor MPs, partying in Bali during the bushfires. @andrew_lund #9News pic.twitter.com/GLqp70pK93

— Nine News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) February 18, 2020

“The fact that I do enjoy a Zorba (Greek dance) would be no surprise to anybody, in fact people with the names Mikakos, Dimopoulos and Staikos, it’d be no surprise to anybody that when Zorba is played we like to get up and dance to it,” Ms Mikakos said.

“During the whole time that I was on leave I was closely following what was happening with the bushfires.

“Of course people would be aware that the seriousness of the situation really grew on the 31st of December, and I was back, cut my leave short, was back on board later that week, so I am not going to be distracted by this.”

“Effectively what the Liberal Party is saying today is that Scott Morrison should not have been in Hawaii, that ministers should never take leave.

“If these are the new rules that they want to abide by, I’m sure that this was not a standard that they held themselves to in the past.”

Ms Mikakos said she had tried to return to Melbourne from the 29th onwards, but her office was not able to get her on an earlier flight.

Mr Andrews said he was “happy to stand beside” Ms Mikakos.

“She’s an outstanding health minister doing an outstanding job,” he said.

The Premier, who returned from leave on December 29, said it was appropriate that he and Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville did not travel overseas during summer as members of the government with “direct responsibility” for emergency management.

However, he said he did not expect the same of ministers, and had not criticised Prime Minister Scott Morrison for his trip to Hawaii in December.

“I’ve not made one critical comment about the PM,” Mr Andrews said.

“Quite a lot of people piled on him at the time. I don’t think that was really a story either.”

Mr Staikos said the “biggest revelation” from the story was that he was a bad dancer.

Mr Dimopoulous said he believed “most people” would be embarrassed to have footage taken of them dancing.

Ms Neville said it was entirely appropriate that Ms Mikakos was having a private holiday in the week between Christmas and New Year.

“The person who needed to be here was here, which is me,” the Emergency Services Minister said.

“That’s the role of the Emergency Management Commissioner, not the Health Minister. She’s entitled to a holiday, and she was back by the time we were doing the state of disaster.”

Mr O’Brien said he had returned from leave on December 29, following a phone call from Member for East Gippsland Tim Bull who told him how bad fire conditions were in his electorate.

“That was the day I decided to cancel my leave and get back to work, and the question is: where was the Health Minister? Mr O’Brien said.

“How long did it take her to get back to work?

“We had massive pressure on our country hospitals, we had people being injured, sadly people died. The Health Minister should have been on deck.

“The 29th of December was the day when Andrew Crisp evacuated East Gippsland.”

Asked whether his office had paid for the Bali footage, Mr O’Brien said: “I have no idea. I’d be shocked if that was the case, but I have no idea.”

“I had not seen it until I saw what was in the paper today,” Mr O’Brien said.