Last week was an astonishing week in Victorian politics as the man who has been front and centre for the last 9 years, Premier Daniel Andrews, announced his resignation as Premier.
To say that I was not a fan of him is an understatement.
I admit that I held the guy in nothing but contempt for most of those 9 years and will say that I was no fan of the guy a lot earlier than certain people.
When it was revealed he had resigned, I allowed myself a yell of "F**K YES" but this was more of relief than genuine joy. Irrespective of my feelings, this is not designed to be an emotional outpouring post, nor is it a post to rip him to shreds. This is instead designed to try (not necessarily succeed) and objectively look at some of the big parts of his legacy.
So what will history say about the Andrews reign? First of all, one of the biggest legacies he leaves is his forward-thinking infrastructure legacy. The level crossing removal program has been a fantastic success and regardless of the controversies surrounding various crossings, the fact remains that this has allowed traffic to move more freely and allowed trains a cleaner travel. The Metro tunnel connecting the south-east to the north-west of Melbourne is also a project that will leave a great legacy as it will free up trains from the City Loop. This will ensure that the lines not attached to Metro Tunnell will be able to feed more trains through the loop as necessary which can only be a good thing.
The West-Gate Tunnel (2nd River Crossing) is an important project (if it ever finishes) as it will remove trucks from the West Gate Bridge. My concern about this project is that it dumps all the traffic in a part of Melbourne that cannot cope with it but if it does get trucks off the Bridge, that is a win for Melbourne. North-East Link has also got the potential to be an absolute beauty. Taking a lot of traffic out of Heidelberg is essential for that area In terms of infrastructure, he does get a tick. Second of all, the fact that in spite of the myriad of problems that occurred, Andrews did get us through the lockdown period of COVID-19. We could argue about restrictions or about vaccinations or about messaging or everything like that but the fact remains, he did help to get people through it. It wasn't perfect and hell, I wish certain things were done differently but at the end of the day, we did get through it and quite a few lives were saved.
Third of all, he took Victoria down a more progressive path of compassion and respect. The work that was done to create the First People's Assembly of Victoria would never have happened without him pushing it. The fact we're on the way to negotiating a treaty with the First People is a credit to Andrews's desire for social equality. His hard work to give respect to the LGBITQ+ people, especially with the creation of a Pride Centre was also a credit to his values regarding compassion and respect. There were a number of areas though where he perhaps fell short!
Cancelling the East-West Link (subsequently revealed to be a needed road according to Infrastructure Victoria) was a very short-sighted decision and then claiming the contract "wasn't worth the paper it was written on" was a warning about what Andrews was going to be like.
Housing was a very mixed record where public housing was being demolished for housing that wasn't affordable despite the government's claims showed his lack of understanding of the suffering out there. Integrity, transparency and accountability were three values that took a rapid decline over the 9 years of his reign. His attitude to these important values bordered on disrespect as if he was above these matters. This decline was noticed early on and when you are required to give evidence at a number of IBAC investigations, something stinks. His response to Operation Daintree was disrespectful in the extreme, calling it "instructional" even though it made findings against the Premier's Office.
Debt! Andrews unfortunately will leave office with Victoria sliding into further debt by the day. It's estimated that by 2026 this debt will reach $175b which is frightening and his plan to recoup money was to make Victorians pay for his government's mismanagement of our finances.
Whatever side of the divide you fall on, whether you're a "Dan-Stan" or a "Dictator Dan" or someone who didn't like the guy for various reasons, Daniel Andrews has played a huge part in shaping this state over the last 9 years. No, he didn't get everything right (some things I have pointed out in previous posts) but you know what, he did put his all into the job and worked hard; that I can respect. I can respect that he was determined to do what he wanted, no matter the critics' viewpoints and while I might have thoughts about some of his methods, he did get results. I will give credit where it's due, he was a political master and basically had the state dancing to his tune.
At the end of the day, while he leaves with a mixed legacy, he also gives new Premier, Jacinta Allan a very interesting building block to carry the ALP through to the next election; a strong majority and an opposition that is a rabble.
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