Victorian election: Andrews launches into building on poll success

Launching the tender of Victoria’s biggest road project, Daniel Andrews practised his most effective messaging.

Daniel Andrews gets down to business, talking up the North East Link at Greensborough, in Melbourne’s northeast. Picture: AAP

At last year’s parliamentary Christmas drinks with the media, Victorian Premier Daniel And­rew­s said that he wanted his govern­ment to be one that “gets shit done”.

It’s a mantra, slightly adjusted for public consumption, that Mr Andrews has used to bludgeon his political opponents, and one he rolled out again yesterday on his first day back after re-election.

Launching the tender of Victoria’s biggest road project, the $15.8 billion North East Link, Mr Andrews got another chance to practise his most effective piece of messaging.

“We will get this done, because it’s what we do,” he said.

Such has been the electoral success of the government’s enthusias­m for delivery, Labor yesterday made an advertisement out of Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger reciting a long list of Andrews government infrastructure promises, some of which have been delivered.

Appearing on Sky News for a post-mortem examination of the Liberals’ stunning loss on Saturday, Mr Kroger said yesterday: “This Premier, Daniel Andrews, has embarked on the biggest infrastructure spend Australia has ever seen.”

Labor set his comments to music, and added an introductory question, “How is Labor helping Victorians?”, and let Mr Kroger tell the story, ending with a comic­al: “Spoken by Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger.”

“(Andrews has) removed level crossings in record numbers. It’s a very visual sign of a government doing something,” Mr Kroger told Sky News. “He’s promised schools, hospit­als and he’s building a big underground train network, and he’s promised another underground train network.

“He’s building a massive road link in the northeast.

“In an era of no wage growth, no real wage growth, he’s offered free TAFE, free dental for schools, free three-year-old kinder, free sanitary products … free breakfasts, solar panels, and people love public expenditure on roads, hospital­s, trains and schools.

“This is the genesis of the Andrew­s government’s success. The guy took a huge risk in putting this agenda out, and he’s been rewarde­d for it.”

Labor Party elder Graham Richardson said very few politicians had been able to run as posit­ively as Mr Andrews had on Saturday.

“He doesn’t promise big, and he makes sure he delivers on his promises,” he said. “People are disillusioned with politicians and they’re not ­renowned for keeping promises, so when you get one who does, they love him.”

Mr Andrews got down to business as a second-term premier yesterda­y, launching the tender process for the North East Link road project.

“We said we’d take this project to the election and let Victorians make up their mind — the people have spoken and North East Link starts today,” he said.

“We chose to be a government that builds, and that’s what we’ve done.”

The government says that when it is completed the North East Link, between the Eastern Freeway and M80 Ring Road, will take 15,000 trucks off local roads and cut 30 minutes off travel times.