Meanwhile, in Victoria: Andrews cruel crack at Katos; stand by for Metro rail

Premier makes a cruel crack about a Liberal MP; Metro rail chaos ahead; Ballarat’s shame.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has made a cruel joke about Liberal MP Andrew Katos, pictured.

Daniel Andrews is such a competitor that his behaviour in the Victorian Parliament can be quite ugly.

Indeed, if the average voter watched parliament every day when he was in opposition it is unlikely he would be premier today.

Labor was back slapping itself this week after Andrews issued a public apology to the men and women convicted under Victoria’s former anti-gay laws.

It made for good political theatre and will provide closure for the people impacted by draconian legislation. So far so good.

What became deeply interesting yesterday was the manner in which Compassionate Dan publicly vilified state Liberal Andrew Katos.

Katos is a big man and most sensitive people would understand that it’s probably a matter of some concern to him.

Not Andrews.

Just a day after one of his ministers returned to work after suffering depression and on the day of the gay apology, Andrews had a cruel crack about Katos’s weight.

Katos asked a question about crime rates and Labor MPs reportedly interjected that they didn’t see the question coming.

“First time anyone has said they didn’t see him coming,’’ The Age reported Andrews as saying.

Boom boom. Andrews apologised this morning for his comment, which would have led to detention, or even suspension, at most high schools.

The Libs also accuse Andrews of slagging off Opposition leader Matthew Guy over his height.

This all might sound like trivial stuff.

But if Labor wants to sell their Premier as a man of great sincerity and compassion — as they did over the gay apology — then he has to walk the talk, not look like a schoolyard bully.

Stand by to stand by

The CBD will be torn apart by construction of the Melbourne Metro rail, shown here in an artist’s impression.

The $11 billion Melbourne Metro rail and tunnel project is about to bring Melbourne to a stand still.

This will raise two political questions.

First, will taxpayers reward Labor for taking action, in stark contrast to the largely moribund former Coalition government?

Second, will there be so much chaos that Labor gets punted out by an electorate that doesn’t have time to sit in traffic?

There will be voters who have their commuting times doubled or even trebled.

The CBD will be torn apart.

Parks will disappear, trees will be torn down, roads closed and there will be general commuter chaos in the middle of town.

The City Square will be a construction site.

Remember, it was The Australian that broke the story years ago about the CBD option the then Napthine government was looking at.

But it was going to be so disruptive that the Coalition went for an inferior plan but one that could at least be delivered without shutting down the city.

Hats off to Daniel Andrews for taking the tough decisions.

But it won’t be an easy sell in a city that is already clogged up.

Vic pol’s shame

IBAC is knee deep in a truly shocking case of alleged brutality in the provincial city of Ballarat.

It never ceases to amaze Meanwhile, in Victoria how stupid some people can be.

In front of security cameras at the Ballarat lockup, a 51-year-old off duty policewoman was recently brutally dealt with by members of the force.

The footage is so graphic that the worst offender will be wondering whether he faces criminal charges.

Meanwhile, in Victoria is certainly asking that question.

Also, what action will be taken against those who witnessed the brutality and failed to step in?

Further, which high ranking officers have failed to enforce a culture that would have stopped this woman being brutalised before it actually happened.

Libs really worried about Dunkley

Treasurer Scott Morrison was due to be in the federal seat of Dunkley today to help out the Lib candidate Chris Crewther.

It really sounds like Crewther needs all the help he can get.

Even though Dunkley is a 5.6 per cent Liberal seat.

We’ve talked before about the voter support that former Small Business Minister Bruce Billson had as the local member.

The PM must silently be wishing Billson was hanging on for another term.