TRANSCRIPT
Anton Enus:
Thanks for joining us. This resignation announcement took us all by surprise. What do you think is going on here?
Paul Strangio:
Well, Daniel Andrews has explained today that effectively the well is dry. He's been premier of the state for almost nine years. He's been the leader of the Labour Party for nearly 13 years. So I think we could take him at his word that after such a long stint of leadership and his premier of Victoria, he's worn out and it's time to move on. And I think he's always wanted to give his successor and that's likely to be Jacin Allen time to entrench herself into the Office of Premier before the next election. So I think it's a plan, but at the same time he's saying that suddenly he felt that, as I said, the well was dry.
Anton Enus:
The best part of a decade is a long time to spend as premier as you say, and enough time to talk about a legacy. What do you think his will be?
Paul Strangio:
I think his legacy will be in two main areas. The Gargan transport infrastructure projects that have transformed Melbourne, and secondly, a whole lot of social reforms, progressive social reforms. For example, under Daniel Andrews government, Victoria has led the way on voluntary assisted dying legislation and now the making of a treaty with indigenous communities. So I think in those two areas, infrastructure and social reform will be his major legacies. Some would argue there's a darker side to his legacy and that is a democratic deficit in things like the tight centralization of power in Victoria and the politicisation of the public service.
Anton Enus:
I mean, it's true that he was quite a divisive figure, particularly perhaps during the covid lockdown period. Do you think that might be some of the regrets he has?
Paul Strangio:
Daniel Andrews isn't the type of leader to have regrets or certainly not admit to regrets. I think the polarisation we saw at during the Covid pandemic in Victoria was largely a situation of fringes. Mainstream Victorians held pretty strongly supporting Daniel Andrews, but a noisy majority labelled him, dictated Dan, and so on and so forth, and sections of the media, the Herald Sun here in Melbourne and Sky News, but they didn't really represent mainstream opinion.
Anton Enus:
The opposition has struggled in the polls in recent times, but with the removal of such a dominant figure as Dan Andrews, do you think that will change?
Paul Strangio:
Well, it's going to be very interesting because I think it's been a problem here in Victoria. The liberal party has been so dysfunctional. We've effectively become something of a one party government state. And it will now be interesting to see with Andrews out of the way, whether the liberal party can start to be seen by Victorians as a viable alternative government. At the moment, they're not regarded as such, and even as Andrews leaves the latest opinion poll. So labour is still way ahead, and that's after more something like nine years of government and two thumping election victories, the last two being landslides. So this may be last, an opportunity for the liberal party to put its best foot forward.
Anton Enus:
Paul Strangio, thanks for joining us on SBS
Paul Strangio:
Thank you.
