The Nationals leader and Member for Murray Plains, Peter Walsh, says this week’s backflip by Premier Daniel Andrews on how to best manage the virus means the time for him to tell the truth has arrived.
Mr Walsh says Daniel Andrews has spent the past 18 months hiding behind “the best medical advice” every time he wanted to shift public and/or media interest from his jackbooted lockdown or bust strategy.
He said Victorians “were over watching the Premier duck for cover” every time the media ask a tough question about one of his flawed decisions.
“I doubt many of us will forget the playground pronouncement – that children were banned from using them for fear they would catch COVID,” Mr Walsh said.
“We want to see the written advice delivered by the chief health officer and his minions; we want to see the epidemiological evidence used for that call, for the curfew, for banning sport at country ovals and courts,” he said.
“If Daniel Andrews wants to retain even a shred of credibility after the mess he has made of the past 18 months it would be a genuine novelty for us all if he decided to tell the true story.
“After all, he has just spent more than $1 million of taxpayer money, your money, polling the major issues in the public’s sights – and suddenly playgrounds aren’t dangerous, they’re healthy.
“We need to know if our COVID decisions now being made on the “best medical advice” or on the “best polling advice”?
Mr Walsh said Daniel Andrews has repeatedly claimed he is the one running the show, he takes full responsibility for the management of the Victorian COVID strategy and he is not a politician to cut and run when the going gets tough.
But he said that now clearly looked like a lot of spin from a man who did everything in his power to blame anyone and everyone for things going wrong – except himself.
“This is the man, and his many cronies followed suit, who sat down at the inquiry into the failure of his own quarantine hotel/contact tracing programs and looking straight at the camera, and the people of Victoria and said he simply could not remember anything about anything,” Mr Walsh said.
“If you believed the Premier and his team were telling the truth, you’ll see a pig flying overhead today,” Mr Walsh said.
“For a man who constantly reminds us (and himself) he is the man in charge; how is it he has been so happy to leave the chief health officer, who would not have a clue how the state of Victoria actually works, to make the big calls?” he added.
“We know Daniel Andrews and his gang have just spent more than $1 million of taxpayer money on polling the public attitude to its lockdowns and its limitations on the mental health and wellbeing of us all.
“Then immediately started reversing decisions – which now begs the question are we still being governed with the Premier’s flawed strategies or are we now being governed by the poll and the pollsters who put them all together?”
