Statement from the Leader of the Opposition John Pesutto
I want to acknowledge Daniel Andrews for serving as Victorian Premier for nearly nine years and 21 years in the Victorian Parliament. I wish him and his family well for the future.
The reality is Daniel Andrews is leaving now because things are falling apart in Victoria and he knows it.
Under Daniel Andrews, Victoria is broke and Victorians are being punished for his incompetence. Victoria has record debt approaching $200 billion and Labor has introduced 50 new or increased taxes since 2014.
Life has got harder for every Victorian over the last nine years. We have a health crisis, a housing crisis, education outcomes have fallen behind the rest of Australia, and energy prices have skyrocketed.
The cost of major projects has blown out by over $30 billion and we have seen unprecedented waste and mismanagement. Our roads are broken and our regions have been neglected.
Victorians endured the longest lockdowns in the world during the pandemic because of Daniel Andrews’ mismanagement. More than 800 people died because of bungled hotel quarantine and the mental health of young Victorians suffered as they were locked up in their homes.
Victoria’s reputation internationally was trashed by the $600 million debacle that was the Commonwealth Games with $380 million in compensation alone.
Corruption has flourished as demonstrated by an endless stream of IBAC reports and our public service has been politicised and power centralised in the Premier’s office.
Businesses have left Victoria in droves and investment has dried up as businesses are punished with some of the highest taxes in Australia.
It doesn’t matter who replaces Daniel Andrews because all these things are in Labor’s DNA. The government is tired, corrupt and incompetent.
We need a vision for all of Victoria and not simply a new Labor leader. To grow our state, fix the budget, build our health and education systems and to restore integrity to government.
John Pesutto, Leader of the Opposition
