Victoria today: 

242 days in lockdown;

11,018 active Covid cases;

1,438 new infections,

856 deaths

Under 50% of the population fully vaccinated;

Public hospital system on the verge of collapse;

Elective surgery lists cut by 50% to make space for Covid patients;

Ambulances forced to queue outside Melbourne hospitals under strain of Covid;

58 charges laid by state’s workplace safety watchdog against the Department of Health over lethal hotel quarantine fiasco of 2020;

More than 700 deaths during the second wave triggered by hotel quarantine; 

No individuals charged by WorkSafe; meaning taxpayers will pay the fines incurred by the Department of Health;  

The education of tens of thousands of students put at risk

Mental well-being of thousands at an all-time low;

Tens of thousands of businesses ruined; 

Livelihoods shattered;

Hope extinguished.

Let’s recall also that Victoria has the worst performing economy in the country, debt well en-route to $130+ billion, major infrastructure projects $6 billion over budget, the highest taxes, the highest unemployment rate, the most bloated public service and the largest propaganda unit of any Australian government.

For the endless, repelling Daniel Andrews arrogance, bravado, chest-beating and hubris, his idiotic roadmap out of Covid is in fact a direct route to chaos.  Mr Andrews, we have arrived.   

The abject failure of the Andrews government to protect the community and provide hope to millions represents, without question, the most spectacular failure of public administration in the state’s history.

As I observed back in May this year, Victoria is being buffeted by events and issues clearly beyond the wit of the government — especially those at the top of the health department — to either understand, manage or resolve. Voters are hostage to ruthless political operators and media manipulators focused on their own survival at the expense of all others.

Andrews — so fond of sheeting home blame to expendable others —  cannot any longer do so. Victoria remains a state without leadership, without credibility and without hope. What an astonishing achievement for a state that was once the envy of the nation.

Andrews is the quintessential control freak. The signs are obvious. Control freak characteristics include surrounding yourself with people you regard as inferior to you. Think Martin Foley’s sombre, mogadon style public performances against the sheer, flashing brilliance of the Messiah. Repeatedly, Andrews leaves the really bad news to others to deliver while he swoops in with the ‘supposed’ solution. The charade isn’t working. It isn’t now and it won’t in the future.

Andrews’ reputation as Manipulator in Chief is rock solid and voters will have their chance to provide the only circuit breaker that matters at the next state election. 

Andrews would do well to remember the old political adage “the voter never gets it wrong” and judging by the latest (Essential) polling exhausted, dispirited voters are starting to wake up to the flake he most certainly is.

Let us hope for all our sakes the voter doesn’t get it wrong next time round and that the Opposition presents as a credible alternative.  

Under its new leadership, the Victorian Opposition could do much worse than to go to the people promising to rebuild the Department of Health from the ground up.  Any such policy should put the actual health and well-being of Victorians first and the self-indulgent, woke, repellant aspirations of bureaucrats into the garbage tip of history.

John Simpson is a Melbourne company director.