If you missed the first two parts of this series, here are the links for you to look back
Own Goal 3 - "That Person" Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has this unfortunate trait where if he wants to dismiss what someone has said, he will flippantly say something along the lines of "Look, I don't want to engage in debate with 'that person.'"
This has a couple of effects 1) It basically shuts down any line of questioning the media want to take in regards to a comment that someone has made 2) It basically dehumanises them, 'others' them (puts them into a separate category, basically dividing in other words) and makes them out to be nothing, a nobody.
I confess it can be an effective communication tool BUT when you lead a government that hasn't exactly behaved in a moral, ethical and transparent manner over the last 9 years, it has the unintended effect of Andrews coming across as an arrogant narcissist who believes he's the smartest in the room and better than the person he's being asked to comment about.
Just over the most recent couple of years, off the top of my head, the following people have either been "that person'd" or very close to it - Adam Somyurek (sprung branch stacking in a 60 Minutes expose and became a full-time Andrews critic - was expelled from the ALP) - Kaushaliya Vaghela (was a Somyurek ally who committed the cardinal sin of crossing the floor to call for a reopening into "red shirts" - was threatened with expulsion from the ALP) - Rebecca Judd (very nearly "that person'd before an adviser got Andrews out of that jam) - Robert Redlich (Former IBAC Commissioner who wrote a letter concerning government conduct, especially regarding the Integrity and Oversight Committee)
There are many others I'm sure who have fallen victim to being "that person'd" or "that group'd" but it was one yesterday that left me absolutely shaking my head in disbelief.
At a different press conference, Daniel Andrews was asked for comments about something that Hoddle Street Killer Julian Knight had said. Andrews' response on this occasion was true to form and paraphrased as "I'm not going to get into a debate with that person. That person lost his right to have a say when he committed the unspeakable evil that he did all those years ago."
As far as someone being "that person'd," surprisingly this wasn't the worst one and I think out of all of those who have been "that person'd" or almost headed down that path, we can agree Knight was deserving of that.
So what was it that Knight said exactly?
He called Daniel Andrews a "hypocrite." With one word, the Hoddle Street Killer basically embarrassed Daniel Andrews with the truth. The most horrific part of this is that he's right. Andrews is a hypocrite.
Daniel Andrews is on record as saying that Julian Knight will never ever be paroled for what he did and he is quite right to say that. When asked about whether Paul Denyer (Frankston Killer) will be paroled, he refused to join an opposition call for Denyer to never be eligible for parole and on that front, he is as wrong, as wrong can be. If Knight (who killed 7 and injured 19 in a mass shooting on Hoddle Street) can never be eligible for parole, then how can Denyer (killed 3, abducted 1, killed pets and admitted to stalking women in Frankston for years) be even remotely considered eligible?
On that front, he is absolutely a hypocrite but to be called out by Julian Knight of all people, I'm honestly surprised that Andrews didn't die from embarrassment or humiliation.
The clincher was Andrews opening his mouth and as soon as he said "I'm not going to get into a debate..." he lost, plain and simple. He lost by acknowledging that Knight had expressed a view and he lost because every rational person can see that on this count, Knight is very much right.
Verdict: If this was a soccer team, Daniel Andrews would be put on the transfer list straight away. To basically be exposed as a hypocrite by someone as evil as Julian Knight, really says a lot about the standing of Andrews. The most bizarre part of this, is if someone as evil as Knight can see that Andrews is a hypocrite, why the hell are so many blind to it? This is a horror own-goal and safe to say Game! Set! Match! Time for the Andrews government to recover from this burn in particular and try again next week.
Amongst all the attempted deflections with the usual hard hat announcements and updates of the "Big Build" the Andrews government has suffered three embarrassingly self-inflicted own goals that didn't need to occur. While you could argue the Myki Tender is a borderline own goal, the last 2 are self-inflicted wounds by a person who thinks they're above pesky things like transparency, accountability and integrity. Newsflash Premier, you're not and never will be.
So ends the 3-part special but I'm sure there will be more own goals to come.
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