Where’s Nowhere Dan Andrews as the mob rules?

Melbourne construction workers protest mandatory vaccinations after the industry has been shut down for two weeks. Picture: Alex Coppel

Where was Dan?

Millions of Melburnians gritted their teeth through another day of Lockdown 6.0 at home on Tuesday, faithfully following his draconian restrictions.

Meanwhile, on the outside, a selfish mob ran our city.

Up to 2000 lawless unionists and construction workers — perhaps infiltrated by anti-vaxxer activists — did what they wanted for pretty much the entire day. Hour after hour, they walked the city streets. The outnumbered police chose not to take them on.

In their defence, thousands of coppers would have been needed to beat this crowd.

There was hardly a mask in sight and no social distancing among the presumably largely unvaccinated protesters lashing out over the snap closure of the $22bn construction industry. If ever there was a recipe for a superspreader event, this was it.

It’s easy to say this was a sign of a city that has endured 230 days of lockdown fraying at the edges. It is true millions are suffering; a mental health crisis is devastating our youth, life is bleak and many are battling to keep businesses alive after nine months locked up by health orders designed to control the pandemic.

But what happened in Melbourne on Monday and Tuesday was not an entire city losing the plot. Our city will continue to mostly abide by the rules, even the ones we hate. Let’s call this for what it was: a bunch of selfish, violent thugs running amok.

While many Melburnians lost their jobs in retail and hospitality, construction workers were spared from major restrictions. The industry continued to work when so many lost that opportunity.

Yet when they are told to get vaccinated to check a fast growing outbreak within their ranks, construction workers thought it reasonable to riot.

They turned on CFMEU chief John Setka, the most militant union leader in the nation, smashing up the union office and causing mayhem. To see Setka cast as a relative voice of reason underlines just how crazy this bunch was.

On Tuesday, it looked a lot like the Andrews government and Victoria Police had lost control of the city. It was a violent, dynamic situation confronting police. The mob grew, became bolder, and occupied the West Gate Bridge.

During Melbourne’s 112-day second lockdown, Premier Dan Andrews appeared at a daily press conference to assure the city he was in control. Often it was just spin and bluster. On Tuesday, when the city needed to hear real words from its elected leader, he was nowhere to be seen. It wasn’t until 6pm that he issued a statement — a 165-word press release condemning the violence.