Category Archives: Daniel Andrews

Daniel Andrews fires up over ‘Dictator Dan’ moniker and Sky News After Dark ‘bullshit’

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Former Victorian premier hits back at ‘haters’, including those who labelled him a ‘control freak’ and ‘dictator’, in first interview since leaving politics

Daniel Andrews has lashed “absolute pretenders” in the media, derided Sky News Australia’s “after dark bullshit” and says he doesn’t care if people call him a “dictator”, in his first interview after his resignation.

In the long-ranging interview on the Socially Democratic podcast, hosted by former Labor campaigner Stephen Donnelly, the former Victorian premier also hit back at suggestions he was a “control freak” and that the public service had been politicised.

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Mulgrave byelection: Labor retains Daniel Andrews’ seat despite swing against Victorian government

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Dandenong mayor Eden Foster leading 54-46 on a two-party preferred basis after Saturday’s byelection

Victorian Labor has retained Daniel Andrews’ seat of Mulgrave despite a significant swing against the government in the former premier’s seat.

The Dandenong mayor, Eden Foster, was leading with more than 40% of the primary vote in Saturday’s byelection, which was down more than 10 percentage points from Andrews’ showing at last year’s state poll.

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Labor gets a taste of life after Daniel Andrews in Jacinta Allan’s chaotic first week as premier

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From a bungled tax announcement to muddled performances from ministers, the best laid plans for a smooth handover quickly went awry

There’s no doubt that when Daniel Andrews resigned as Victoria’s premier he had planned a perfect handover for his successor, Jacinta Allan.

Over several years, he grew their socialist left faction to greatly outnumber the right, meaning Allan would be able to fend off any possible challenge for the leadership.

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Australia news live: Jacinta Allan expected to become new premier of Victoria after Dan Andrews resigns; Tesla battery storage fire in Queensland

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Bill Shorten says Allan is a ‘leader in her own right’; rule quirk means Labor may have acting premier

Andrews’ handling of pandemic ‘a legacy of his strength’, Bill Shorten says

NDIS minister and former Labor leader Bill Shorten has spoken highly of outgoing Victorian premier Daniel Andrews while speaking to ABC RN this morning.

I think the pandemic was the most unusual period in Victoria … and I think that we were learning a lot as we went along during that.

When I think back to those first few days, in March 2020, I think the aim was to ensure that we had enough hospital space to be able to treat people if they got very sick, and that required, I think, a high degree of central leadership.

Police will continue to monitor the situation as there are a large number of batteries on site … Nearby residents are urged to monitor [social media] and be prepared for police to door-knock homes in the area if the situation worsens.

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Jacinta Allan expected to be appointed Victorian premier amid Labor factional fight

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Socialist left ally of Daniel Andrews is seen as his successor, but battles for deputy leader are expected on Wednesday

Victorian Labor MPs have arrived at state parliament ahead of a meeting that is tipped to see Jacinta Allan become the state’s new premier – despite a brewing factional battle over who will become deputy.

Allan, the state’s deputy leader, is expected to be backed by the Labor caucus at a midday meeting to replace the outgoing premier, Daniel Andrews, who will officially resign on Wednesday afternoon.

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Daniel Andrews remoulded the state of Victoria – but the wheels were beginning to wobble

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Time will tell if the premier’s legacy will be his huge infrastructure projects and social reforms or his exercise of power and debt burden

Daniel Andrews has been one of the most transformational leaders in Australia’s history. Victorians will be living with his legacy for decades – encountering it when they drive, catch public transport, raise their children and, for some, even at the point of death.

His main legacy is already clear: the huge infrastructure and public transport projects that will mould life in Australia’s fastest-growing capital for the century ahead. If they work, they will keep Melbourne livable, despite the pressures of a booming population.

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Daniel Andrews resigns as premier of Victoria

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Labor’s longest-serving premier in the state made the announcement at a snap press conference on Tuesday

Daniel Andrews has announced his resignation as the Victorian premier, after nearly nine years in office.

The announcement was made at a snap press conference outside parliament on Tuesday and comes after prolonged media speculation about his future. Andrews’ deputy, Jacinta Allan, later confirmed she would run for leadership of the Victorian Labor party.

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By making a deal with developers on housing, Daniel Andrews may find it harder to negotiate with the Greens

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Greens hold the balance of power in the upper house. They are also angered at the planned redevelopment of 44 public housing towers

In politics, optics are everything.

It’s why when the Victorian government unveiled its housing statement – an ambitious policy that it says will reshape the state by delivering 800,0000 homes over the next decade – it did so alongside the building and property sectors.

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Daniel Andrews says $380m Commonwealth Games compensation ‘the best outcome Victoria could get’

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The Victorian premier last month announced Victoria would not host the games after a forecast cost blowout

The Victorian government has agreed to pay Commonwealth Games bodies $380m in compensation after cancelling the 2026 event, in what the premier, Daniel Andrews, is claiming as “the best outcome” the state could get.

Andrews made the shock announcement last month that Victoria would not host the Games as planned due to concerns they would far exceed initial cost expectations.

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Has the first shot been fired in Victorian Labor’s succession?

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MPs say leaks about alleged branch stacking have escalated the factional war about who will eventually replace Daniel Andrews

Daniel Andrews has not announced plans to resign – but the first shot may have been fired this week in a fight over who will take over leadership positions in the Victorian Labor party when he does.

While unlikely to cause long-term damage to either the premier, or its subject, minister Lily D’Ambrosio, the leak of branch stacking allegations to a newspaper has been described by state MPs as an escalation in the war between Labor’s factions as they begin planning for a future without Andrews at the helm.

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Australia news live: pre-emptive release of Sofronoff report ‘denied me procedural fairness’, Shane Drumgold says

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ACT director of public prosecutions steps down after agreeing with ACT attorney-general Shane Rattenbury his position was ‘no longer tenable’. Follow live news updates today

PM urges people to look at the yes and no pamphlets

Albanese is asked about the word “Makarrata”, which has been subject to attack by the no campaign.

Why would someone disagree with the idea of Makarrata, with which is a Yolngu word for coming together after conflict - what that is about is just advancing reconciliation.

What the no campaign insists on doing is talking about anything but what is in the question before the Australian people. I would say to your listeners, have a look at what the question is, have a look at the yesand the no pamphlets. The yes pamphlet with its optimistic appeal for hope and a vision for the future, and the no campaign quoting people, misquoting people who are not actually supporting it.

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Timing of $2bn housing and sports package uncertain after Victorian Commonwealth Games pullout

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Regional mayors say they expect the state government to provide details on infrastructure projects in coming months

The Victorian government has yet to commit to deadlines for new and upgraded sports facilities and $1bn in social and affordable housing promised to regional centres that were set to host the Commonwealth Games.

Weeks after Daniel Andrews announced the 2026 event in Victoria would be cancelled, regional mayors expect it could be at least two months before the government outlines its timeline to deliver promised facilities and housing. It comes after Victoria’s upper house on Wednesday voted to establish a select committee to investigate the cancellation of the major sporting event. This is separate to the Senate inquiry in federal parliament that will also examine the axing of the Games.

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Birmingham says opposition doesn’t ‘fear’ early election – as it happened

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Housing bill squabble to bring back possibility of double dissolution election

Parliament resumes next week after a five-week hiatus over winter, which means all the squabbles and fights we left in June are starting to whirl up again – chief among them housing. As Daniel Hurst reported this morning, Labor is going to bring back its housing bill to the house in October, where it will pass. Once it hits the Senate, things get a little more dicey. If it’s rejected by the Greens, who so far aren’t seeing what they want from the government, then the government has a double dissolution trigger.

The early indications are that there was a 50m exclusion zone around the deceased.

All efforts had been made to cover the body but at certain stages of the forensic examination, that body did need to be uncovered so the forensic police could do their work for the coroner and unfortunately, those children did walk past.

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Essential poll: sizeable support for Daniel Andrews’ decision to scrap Commonwealth Games

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Almost 60% of people support players receiving equal pay in the Women’s World Cup

More than 40% of Australians agree with Daniel Andrews’ controversial decision to scrap the Commonwealth Games, with his home state most supportive of the move, new polling shows.

While critics bemoaned the decision as “an international embarrassment”, the latest Guardian Essential poll found Australians were less invested, with 41% of those polled agreeing with the Victorian government’s decision, while 36% disagreed and 24% were unsure.

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Commonwealth Games cost blowout known by government for months, Daniel Andrews confirms

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Victorian premier says it is possible a $5bn budget allocation was proposed earlier this year, prior to Games being cancelled

Daniel Andrews says he has been aware for months that the cost of Victoria hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games had increased beyond the original $2.6bn budget, but would not confirm if state Treasury officials rejected a bid to increase it to $5bn.

The premier said there may have been a proposal by the agency responsible for delivering the Games for an increased funding allocation ahead of the state budget in May, as reported by the Age.

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Daniel Andrews’ $7bn Commonwealth Games price tag doesn’t add up, expert says

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Grattan Institute analyst says ‘the supply and cost inflation can’t fully account for this massive increase in costs’

An infrastructure expert says inflation and labour can’t account for the $7bn cost estimate used by the Victorian government to call off the state’s Commonwealth Games, as the Greens call for an integrity crackdown on the use of consultants.

The state opposition has also referred the government’s scrapping of the event to the auditor general, saying it needed to be determined why the costs of hosting the Games escalated and how much Victorian taxpayers would pay for their cancellation.

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Commonwealth Games: Victoria’s regions ‘shocked and disappointed’ after event cancelled

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The 2026 Games, which Daniel Andrews announced would be cancelled, was set to be held across Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton

Regional areas have been left “shocked and disappointed” after the Victorian government decided to cancel the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

On Tuesday the government announced it would cancel the 12-day event after the cost blew out from $2.6bn and could have reached $7bn, with the premier, Daniel Andrews, saying he did not want to take money from other areas of the budget to pay for the Games.

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Victoria to crack down on pokies with load-up limits, mandatory closures and slower spin rates

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Premier Daniel Andrews says reforms ‘will provide the strongest gambling harm preventions and anti-money laundering measures in Australia’

Mandatory closing hours, slower spin times and smaller spending limits will be used to minimise gambling harm in sweeping gambling reforms across Victoria.

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, and the gaming minister, Melissa Horne, announced a series of reforms for electronic gaming machines in the state on Sunday.

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Local councils warn Victorian government against seizing control of planning laws

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Municipal peak body also says more town planners are desperately needed to speed up building approvals

Local councils have warned the Victorian government that seizing control of planning laws will not fix the state’s housing crisis, pointing to a shortage of town planners across all levels of government.

As pressure builds on the premier, Daniel Andrews, to release details of the government’s housing package – which he says will include a “substantial rewrite of planning laws” to increase supply, the Municipal Association of Victoria is urging caution.

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Greens and Coalition unite to refer bill to its own inquiry

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Albanese takes swipes at the Greens

The Midwinter Ball was held overnight. It seems to have been a fairly staid affair but I am still ferreting out info.

Consulting firm PwC engaged in a “calculated” breach of trust by using confidential information to help its clients avoid tax and engaged in a “deliberate cover-up” over many years, a Senate committee has found.

PwC should be “open and honest” by promptly publishing the names and details of its partners and staff involved, the finance and public administration committee has recommended.

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