Character matters

This was unsuccessfully submitted for publication to a newspaper's letters column. The good thing about having a blog is that enables opiniated people to self publish instead. You have an alternative outlet. 

Reports of Labor caucus dissatisfaction with Premier Jacinta Allan's leadership, combined with the Victorian government's challenging fiscal situation, and endemic maladministration, invite comparisons with the former Cain/Kirner governments (1982-1992), but with one important distinction.

Rather than spin and obfuscation, the likes of former Premier John Cain (1982-1990), his deputy, Robert Fordham (1982-1989), and Treasurer, Rob Jolly (1982-1990), resigned from their positions because of their conviction that it was the only way to take responsibility and accountability either for their, or the government's failed policies.

By comparison, their present-day successors seem to be lacking in such character and integrity. 

 

Leaving Victorians cold

In commemoration of his 3000 days in office, former Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews will have a bronze statue erected of him in the grounds of the state government offices in central Melbourne. The cost has been estimated at $100,000. Will it blow out, just like almost every other project his government oversaw?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13897113/Dan-Andrews-immortalised-bronze-statue-Melbourne.html

How did this happen?

 How did this get out? Was it leaked, or published accidentally. As bad as the current Victorian government is, the Liberal Opposition cannot credibly present themselves as an alternative government if they release such sloppy policy documents as this. 

"Tickets, please."

Daniel Andrews, the current Premier of the Australian state of Victoria has a very high opinion of himself, as his government's grandiose election promises partially attest, such as building the biggest hospital in Australia, as reported in the pictured newspaper article, but not even he is capable of time travel, which is the only conceivable way to make retrospective election promises. 

So pedantic one feels like wearing a red t-shirt

In the fair state of Victoria, the highly ethical conduct of the political class is being revealed for all to see, with the Labor Party branch stacking inquiry. The practice has been rife for many years, going back to at least the 1990s. As political nerds would remember, in the 1996 Australian federal election, Senator Gareth Evans moved to the House of Representatives, winning the safe Labor seat of Holt. After the 1998 election, not wanting to spend another term in opposition, he decided to resign from Parliament to pursue other opportunities. He was not involved in a factional preselection battle with his replacement, Anthony Byrne, as this article erroneously states. 

https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/news/ibac-adem-somyurek-accuses-daniel-andrews-bill-shorten-stephen-conroy-and-richard-marles-of-branch-stacking/news-story/f67729fdf8228d461187c2ce94a81eeb

Not so cut and dry

Former Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, is spearheading a campaign against News Limited, Australia's largest media company, attacking it for what he sees as a protection racket for Liberal politicians, state governments, and the Morrison Liberal government. In practical terms, Rudd believes that its newspapers fail to hold them to account for corruption, incompetence, and maladministration, especially during the pandemic. 

One weakness in Rudd's argument is the situation in Victoria. As a Victorian, and a long time observer of Victorian politics, unlike Kevin from Queensland, I am qualified to comment. The Herald Sun, published in Victoria, and the best selling newspaper in Australia, often attacks the Victorian state government for using  lockdowns in its pandemic management. Even so, this has had little influence on public sentiment. While Labor has lost some voter support, Premier Daniel Andrews is still popular, and the Liberal opposition is unable to cut through. It is very likely that the Victorian Labor government will be returned in the 2022 election, just like Labor governments in Queensland and Western Australia in their most recent state elections. How would Rudd explain that?

As a student of history, Rudd is presumably aware that since 1982, when the Bolte/Hamer/Thompson government ended, having held power under three different leaders since 1955, Victoria has had Liberal governments for 11 of those years, and the Labor Party for 28. Clearly, Labor has been far more successful electorally than the Liberals. If there is a Liberal protection racket in Victoria, then Murdoch's minions didn't get the memo. 

The cat that got the cream

Geelong Football Club is getting $142 million from the Victorian state government for its stadium redevelopment. I am a Geelong fan, but I don't understand why the government is giving a sporting club taxpayers' money. Is there a compelling business case, or is this pork barreling? 

https://www.afl.com.au/news/663049/40000-here-we-come-gmhba-stadium-upgrade-to-start-at-seasons-end

Things that make you go hmm

So much for that alleged News Corporation protection racket that its papers run for the Liberal Party. Its attacks on the Victorian Labor government's mismanagement of the pandemic has had no affect on its approval ratings, according to an opinion poll released late yesterday. Of those surveyed, Labor Premier Daniel Andrews holds an approval rating of 52 per cent. Liberal Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien's approval rating for his handling of the pandemic sits at 15 per cent. The Labor government has given the Opposition plenty of material to work with, but it seems that O'Brien is not cutting through with voters. 

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/andrews-support-strong-but-liberal-leader-floundering-poll-20201026-p568kz.html

The annoying know it all who nobody talks to at parties

Former Premier of Victoria, John Cain (1982-1990) has died. Television news obituaries were mostly accurate, except for one minor detail. They credited him with introducing Sunday retail trading in the state, but this is not correct. His government introduced reforms permitting retail trading on Saturday afternoons, whereas they previously closed in the early afternoon. Later state governments fully deregulated trading hours.

Turn on the sun

As reported in today's Herald Sun, the Victorian government's solar panel rebate scheme has been rorted by an unscrupulous operator, leaving consumers with defective solar systems. It is possible that future audits will reveal yet more problems with the scheme. Consumers can justifiably be angry with the installer for receiving inferior work, and Victorian taxpayers should be entitled to ask if the government is capable of properly overseeing this scheme. 

https://www.9news.com.au/national/victoria-solar-panel-scheme-dodgy-installer-banned-news-melbourne/e7881501-717f-4f15-b427-d6ac4a3cd568

The expendable?

As of this week, voluntary euthanasia, or as it is also euphemistically known, voluntary assisted dying, became legal in the state of Victoria. It is expected that there will be strong demand for this scheme, with 150 people per year taking advantage of it. If the state government is to be believed, this scheme is tightly regulated, so that it is limited to terminally ill Victorian adults in intolerable pain and with less than six months to live, or 12 months for neurodegenerative diseases, and who meet 68 safeguards.

This is supposed to prevent situations like those in other jurisdictions, such as Belgium, where children have been euthanized, and at least one Belgian citizen, who was otherwise in excellent health but suffering from depression, chose to prematurely end her life, to give but two well documented examples. There is also evidence of people ending their lives prematurely under pressure from relatives who wanted to avoid the disruption to their lives that their illness caused.

I am saddened that euthanasia is now legal in Victoria, because of the potential for incidents like those that have occurred in Belgium to also occur in Victoria. It was reported that a group of medical practitioners raised these concerns with the Victorian government, but they were ignored. 

Additionally, it sends a message to already vulnerable people that they are a burden to society. That is certainly the sentiment expressed by Henry Marsh, a well known euthanasia advocate, in this meme. Marsh is blunt, but as we will surely find out in the next few years, I doubt he would be alone in having this attitude. 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/new-victorian-dying-laws-risk-wrongful-deaths/news-story/b9213cb468966837c54704db3df7f46d

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jan/18/death-on-demand-has-euthanasia-gone-too-far-netherlands-assisted-dying

https://vivredignite.org/en/against-euthanasia/

Give or take a few years

Like many conservative Victorians, I am disappointed with the results of yesterday's state election, having to endure four more years of the Andrews Labor government. 

On the lighter side, I found at least two errors in newspaper coverage of the election. Possibly soon-to-be former Liberal Opposition Leader, Matthew Guy visited his old primary school to cast his vote. I recognise the windows in the background. He was not, as the caption in this article says, visiting his electorate of Bulleen. The school is located in the neighbouring electorate of Eltham. 

Secondly, the school received its own indoor swimming pool at least one or two years before he started there in 1979, and not in 1982. At that time, Rupert Hamer, a Liberal, was Premier of Victoria, so the pool is hardly an example of Labor pork barreling. Either Guy or the journalist who wrote this story got his facts wrong.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/on-election-day-smiling-matthew-guy-feels-the-love-and-loathing-at-his-old-primary-school-20181124-p50i3a.html

Razor gang

It's election time again. The Labor Party often resorts to caricaturing the Liberal Party as heartless bean counters, who have little regard for the human cost of their spending cuts, whilst the Liberals like to slam Labor as reckless spenders. This mock scratch card, produced by the Trades Hall Council, is an attempt to persuade voters of the dire consequences for Victoria of not voting Labor. They would have you believe that health, education, and workplace safety will all suffer. 

A harsh analysis of this issue would argue that if it wasn't for cost blowouts on major projects, the Liberals would not need state to cut funding for these services when they hold government.

Observers have recently warned of potential cost blowouts on major infrastructure projects. This will potentially cause budget problems for the next Victorian government. 

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/west-gate-tunnel-stand-off-to-blow-out-costs-and-delays-opposition-20180611-p4zktz.html

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/victorias-building-bonanza-risks-cost-blowout/news-story/70c3de4390a52941b602ea67558a16a0

Even if these projects are not mismanaged, they often cost more than necessary. Those with long memories will remember that the previous Victorian Labor government rejected the offer of federal government funding for the 2002 Melbourne Cricket Ground redevelopment, because it would not accept its conditions.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/mcg-funding-fallout-20020606-gdu9zb.html

According to the Auditor General, it is also very likely that the total cost of the current level crossing removal project will be much higher than initially estimated. 

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/level-crossing-removal-program-poor-value-for-money-auditorgeneral-andrew-greaves-20171214-h04ed0.html

Controversially, it also chose to build the Eastlink road project as a tollway instead of a freeway, rejecting federal government funding for the project. 

Flying too close to the sun

The other day we received a brochure from the Labor Party's candidate for my electorate in next month's state election, promoting the Victorian government's solar homes package. I for one am not confident that the scheme will be successful.

They are offering to subsidise the cost of purchasing a domestic solar power system.
A cursory reading of the scheme's information website seems to indicate that it will be tightly regulated, and only approved suppliers will be permitted to participate in the scheme, and the installation work must be done by suitably qualified tradespeople.

Even so, it is more than likely than unethical operators will find a way to circumvent the regulations, and exploit both the government and customers. Just last night we received an unsolicited telemarketing phone call from a solar energy company, offering to sell us a solar power system. You (possibly) read it here first.

Pork barrel

The Victorian government is going to spend millions of dollars of taxpayers' money on stadium upgrades, such as Etihad Stadium. I can understand the logic of financing stadium upgrades in suburban and regional areas, but why are taxpayers being asked to pay for a stadium redevelopment that the AFL could easily finance from its own funds? Furthermore, why is the government preferencing the AFL over community sports clubs, which often struggle financially?

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/andrews-government-set-to-splash-cash-on-footy-stadiums-20180412-p4z9bg.html

Clearing barnacles

The timing of the Victorian government's new enterprise bargaining agreement with the Metropolitan Fire Brigade is interesting. One can't help but wonder if the government wanted to get this very generous deal done before the November state election.

It has had a controversial relationship with both the professional fire services, and the volunteer Country Fire Authority (CFA). This controversy with the CFA arguably contributed to the Labor opposition narrowly losing the 2016 Australian federal election. On the face of it, it looks like this agreement is designed to neutralise this issue.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/06/victoria-firefighter-deal-196-days-annual-leave-150m-james-merlino

Lowering the standard

I hear with interest the news of the formation of a new radical leftist political party, the Victorian Socialists. They are planning to contest the state election, which will be held in November. Among other things, they want to replace the Victorian state flag with the Eureka flag, because they claim that it is outdated, and does not reflect modern Victoria. It was first used at the famous Eureka Stockade in 1854 at Ballarat, and since then has been used as a symbol of protest and democracy, and by the Labor movement.

Given that Socialists claim to oppose racism, I can't help but wonder if they are aware of the Eureka flag's association with racism. It started with the racism that Chinese miners experienced on the Victorian goldfields. This association has been continued by the flag's usage by various Australian white supremacist groups.

It seems to me that this is a pointless and counterproductive campaign. If it succeeded, it would merely replace a flag that offends some people with one that offends even more, and is not actually any more of a unifying symbol to everyday Victorians than the present flag. This sort of posturing plays well with the Socialists' support base in inner suburban Melbourne, but I dare say it is unlikely to get much traction with voters in urban growth corridors, or regional areas. 

Public Domain, Link

Vulnerability

Victoria is the first state in Australia to legalize voluntary euthanasia. A previous Victorian Labor government legalized late term abortion. This means that Victoria now has state sanctioned killing from the womb to the grave.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-29/euthanasia-passes-parliament-in-victoria/9205472

The fine art of procrastination

Flinders Street Station

Melbourne's landmark Flinders Street Station is being extensively restored and refurbished. This project was first mooted as long ago as 1990, for the city's ill-fated bid for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. Successive state governments dragged their feet over the project ever since, and now it's finally happening. When it isn't involved in radical social engineering, the Andrews government is also investing heavily in major infrastructure projects. Better late than never.

Road to nowhere

The Victorian Auditor General's Office is an independent body charged with providing oversight of the Victorian government's handling of the state's finances. Today it released its report into the scrapping of the East West Link toll road.

The report summary reads as follows:

"This audit examined whether the state had effectively managed the East West Link (EWL) project by assessing the total costs of the project, appropriateness of advice supporting key project decisions and the lessons for future major projects. The audit included 10 government agencies.

The EWL project was terminated in June 2015 with more than $1.1 billion paid, or expected to be paid, by the state for little tangible benefit. This cost includes expenditure on the planning, development, procurement and termination of the project and will be partially offset by future proceeds from the sale of properties acquired for the project which the Department of Treasury & Finance estimates at $320 million.

The audit found that the EWL business case did not provide a sound basis for the government’s decision to commit to the investment and that key decisions during the project planning, development and procurement phases were driven by an overriding sense of urgency to sign the contract before the November 2014 state election.

Advice to government in the lead up to signing the contract did not sufficiently assess the benefits of delaying contract signing to mitigate risks posed by the unresolved legal challenge to the project planning approval decision. Signing the contract in these circumstances was imprudent and exposed the state to significant cost and risk.

The amount payable by the state under the termination settlement was substantially lower than the cost of terminating under the project contract. However the decision to terminate was made without full consideration of the merits to completing the project.

Over the life of this costly and complex project, advice to government did not always meet the expected standard of being frank and fearless. This highlights a risk to the integrity of public administration that needs to be addressed. The report makes recommendations to the Department of Treasury & Finance to provide guidance for development and delivery of major projects and for the Department of Premier & Cabinet to emphasise requirements for frank and fearless advice from the public sector." 

One thing is clear. Neither the former or current Victorian state governments handled this project well. The road will eventually need to be built. When it is built, it will probably cost more than what it did had construction proceeded as planned.  

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-09/auditor-general-reports-on-east-west-link-costs/7012618

http://www.audit.vic.gov.au/reports_and_publications/latest_reports/2015-16/20151209-east-west-link.aspx