Victorian election: Health at heart of leaders’ town hall debate

Matthew Guy challenged Daniel Andrews on Victoria’s health ­crisis, debt and infrastructure during a feisty pre-election leaders’ debate.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Opposition Leader Matthew Guy at the leaders’ forum. Picture: Tony Gough

Matthew Guy challenged Daniel Andrews on Victoria’s health ­crisis, while the Premier accused his Liberal opponent of ignoring the sacrifices of nurses and ­ambulance workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, during an at times feisty pre-election leaders’ debate.

Mr Andrews was declared the narrow winner of the only debate of the campaign, four days out from polling day.

The Premier and Liberal leader Matthew Guy exchanged barbs over a long list of issues ­including debt, infrastructure, climate change, the cost of living, health and transport, while tense exchanges broke out over several issues including integrity and gas policy.

Of the 100 undecided voters in the audience, 38 said they favoured Mr Andrews after Tuesday night’s debate, compared with 34 for Mr Guy and 28 who remained undecided.

The Sky News/Herald Sun People’s Forum debate was held in the eastern suburban Melbourne seat of Box Hill, which Labor won from former Liberal attorney-general Robert Clark in 2018 and currently holds with a notional margin of 3 per cent.

Mr Guy, whose opening highlighted Victoria’s health crisis, cost-of-living pressures and integrity issues, put it to Victorians that Labor had been in power for 19 of the past 23 years, and “can’t evade” responsibility for ambulance wait times and struggling hospitals.

Mr Andrews – fighting for a third term after eight years in power – spoke of having promised to remove 50 level crossings at a Sky News People’s Forum in a previous election campaign.

“We’ve removed 67,” he said, as he reeled off his plans for schools, hospitals, road, rail, free kindergarten, more nurses and ambulances, as well as bringing back the State Electricity Commission for “government-owned renewable energy that’s for ­people, not profit.”

The testiest back and forth came when the leaders were forced to address each other personally at the end of the debate, and pose a question to their ­opponent.

Mr Andrews asked Mr Guy why he ignored the fact that nurses, ambos and doctors have worked so hard during the pandemic. “It‘s like you discount (that) fact,” he said. “You put it out there that the challenges we face in our health system are unique to Victoria; they are not.”

The Premier then sought ­bipartisan appeal by name-checking his NSW counterpart Dominic Perrottet, with whom he has held several joint press conferences this year.

“Dom Perrorett is a Liberal. There are many things we don’t agree on … but he tells me there are things as challenging, potentially even more challenging (in NSW),” Mr Andrews said.

In response, Mr Guy said: “Your government has broken the state’s health system. I intend to fix the damage you have done to it.”

Mr Guy asked why the Premier adopted a “combative and divisive” style in government when he should “unite and not divide us”.

“Well Matthew, we have a positive and optimistic plan,” Mr Andrews replied. “We get things done. I don’t make popular decisions, particularly in crises. I make the right decisions.

“We agonised over so many of the tough calls we had to make during that one in 100-year ­pandemic.”

In response to a question from an audience member about integrity, Mr Guy said he was part of a government that established the state’s anti-corruption commission, in a bid to highlight his party’s track record on integrity.

But he did not respond to a question about his own government’s referral to IBAC over a ­donations scandal.

Mr Guy insisted Mr Andrews’ government had been investigated more times than any other government in history by anti-corruption agencies and said the extra powers he was calling for were “the same as every other state that has an anti-corruption commission”.

Mr Andrews said “weren’t you just bragging” about the fact that Mr Guy was part of the government that set up IBAC.

Mr Andrews highlighted his government’s decision not to give in to IBAC calls for journalists to face jail if they publish details about anti-corruption reports.

“We are not going to lock up journos for doing their work,” the Premier said.

In another fiery exchange, Mr Andrews denied spreading misinformation via Labor ads claiming the Liberals planned to overturn Victoria’s ban on fracking.

“No, it’s not misinformation. The chief scientist has made it very clear … there are no reserves of gas known or probable that can be extracted on shore using conventional methods,” he said of the Coalition’s policy to “turbocharge” onshore, conventional gas exploration in Victoria.