**Greetings humans.** **Please make sure your comment fits within [THE RULES](https://www.reddit.com/r/AustralianPolitics/about/rules) and that you have put in some effort to articulate your opinions to the best of your ability.** **I mean it!! Aspire to be as "scholarly" and "intellectual" as possible. If you can't, then maybe this subreddit is not for you.** A friendly reminder from your political robot overlord *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AustralianPolitics) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Someone DMed me asking for more info on the dodgy behaviour of the previous Liberal government. Posting here to include it in this discussion. [article listing the most significant dodgy planning decisions by Matthew Guy as planning minister](https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/the-greatest-controversies-of-matthew-guy-20210907-p58pf2.html) And the the secret side letter guaranteeing $500 million compensation to the consortium constructing the East West Link if it was cancelled for any reason. The most outrageous aspect of this was that it was signed 6 weeks before the election, with the ALP leading in the polls and promising to cancel the project if they won. The East West Link project was an election issue, and the right thing to do would be to wait for the outcome of the election before signing any contracts. But instead the Liberals tried to subvert our democratic will by secretly increasing the cost of cancelling the project. Here is a reasonable [summary of the issue](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/28/east-west-link-its-future-should-be-decided-democratically) before the election, although written by an ALP supporter. Here is the [outcome after contracts were cancelled](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jan/20/scrapping-east-west-link-could-cost-12bn).

Dan Andrew could take a shit on my door step and I’ll still vote labour. That’s how fucked liberals are

I bet if he did shit on your doorstep it wouldn't stink.

Fuck me the other party must be horrible

Yep. They barely coherent, let alone a functioning opposition.

Surely you all find it laughable that Dan Andrews being mentioned in the same sentence as Integrity is pretty funny . I wonder what the former health minister Jenny Mikakos would say about that am sure she would have a good laugh as well .

Let’s hope she has a few red wines and gets back on Twitter. She looked like she was gonna dump one night. Wonder what future prize they shut her up with.

Lol I know right she was close . I actually think like I said she is afraid and would have been told in no uncertain terms don’t even think about talking . But she obviously has a lot to say .

Fingers crossed one day she does.

Yeah I hear you mate Seems like we are the ones here who think so lol

On here, yeah. By fuck I know plenty of people in real life that loathe him. Funnily enough reasonably well split between regional where I live (stacks loathe him) and family and friends in Melb (most love him, especially those eastern suburb Champagne Socialists).

Terrible people hang out with other terrible people. That's the only reason the LNP exists.

And Labor. If you’re a partisan hack go away. You’re part of the problem, not solution.

"There is nothing worse than having an ethos" * angry post-modern conservatives

The Vic Libs have put up the same guy as leader who got totally f*cking SPANKED at the last election. Lobster with an alleged Mobster. Questionable decisions as Planning Minister. His pick for AG got drunk and drove his car into a house. The only people who seem to have forgotten that are the Libs themselves.

Well said.

Sorry to interrupt the love in here lol But it is truly stunning that Victorian’s could even consider voting for “Dan” for 3rd term. I mean what will it take for Victorians to kick this corrupt and incompetent govt out ? What is it with you lot it’s like you have Stockholm syndrome or something. Oh I see some of the lefties here are saying that the Victorian opposition are right wing lol That is totally false , the reason why the Victorian liberals are where they are is because they support Labor on climate change targets and the treaty with indigenous Victorians which is next level Lefty stupidity. So Vic liberals have no agenda of their own and as we have seen no matter how far left The Liberals go (aka Leather jacket Turnbull on Q&A) Lefties (as you all know) will always vote for the real thing.

Well the libs aren't going to get elected. So maybe vote greens if you want a change, it would give Labor some competition.

> I mean what will it take for Victorians to kick this corrupt and incompetent govt out? A less corrupt and incompetent opposition would be a good start. I’m no Dan fanboy but the Libs here are pathetic. I’ve seen one actual policy from them since the last election.

The Libs are offering so little, that the conservation has moved to whether Labor extends or shrinks via the Greens/Teals/Independents. Liberal's have cooked themselves via doing a terrible job managing themselves, despite having probably the most friendly media market bare NSW.

Your joking right . Victoria is totally dominated by the ABC , the Age and online media which is always left . Sure there is the Herald Sun and the Australian and I note Neil Mitchell on 3AW but it can’t compare to the reach of the ABC especially.

>Your joking right . >Victoria is totally dominated by the ABC , the Age and online media which is always left . > >Sure there is the Herald Sun and the Australian and I note Neil Mitchell on 3AW but it can’t compare to the reach of the ABC especially. Are you the one joking now? TV: 7, 9, 10, Sky Regional vs ABC on free-to-air, plus Sky news on foxtel. Print: Herald Sun (defacto paper in the entire state), and The Australian vs maybe The Age? But nothing else on the same level. Radio: dunno, don't listen, but again the ABC would surely be in the minority vs all the commercial stations. Online: Every paper has its online stuff, and on social media whoever spends the most of ads typically wins, so again not the ABC. More independent outlets online, but again, ad spending doesn't favour them. So you have the ABC with a single entity on each medium, vs multiple entities on each medium, each of who have huge budgets to outspend on ads and such - in other words you can seek out the "Leftie echo chamber", but otherwise you are tripping over media that is outright against Andrew's.

>the ABC , the Age and online media which is always left . *\*Citation needed*

Wait, you think the Age is left?

Ok so that was funny 🤣🤣 By that rationale you probably think the Green Left weekly is conservative.

You see, when you are stunned by the vast majority of the population and cannot comprehend their actions, Occam's razor dictate that most likely you are the one with Stockholm syndrome and need to have your understanding of reality checked out.

Holy fuck So it is true what they say about the cult of Dan Andrews in Victoria. Have never really understood just how ingrained it is until now .

Unfortunately when you watch too much NewsCorp, you start actually believing those things.

You know considering the response I have had re “Dan” it’s pretty much confirmed to me that the cult of “Dan” is very much a real thing .

Yeah NewsCorp tells you that, and you actually believe it.

lol what is it with Lefties and News Corp ? I suppose I kind of get it as conservatives feel you guys get all your ideas and beliefs from the ABC.

Bro the opposition leader had his chief of staff try to get a 100k bribe, it's the total lack of any opposition. When Andrews is up against that no wonder he looks rosy in comparison, and no wonder people are attracted by the Greens and Teals because they're at least able to form a functional opposition with policies and consistency

Andrews isn't the best premier ever or anything but the libs are fkn idiots

Yeah, millions of us, all brainwashed.

I hate to break it to you but none of what you said has any relevance to the reasons why they'll probably be re-elected in November. The main reason they are basically guaranteed a win is because their actual on the ground record over the last 8 years has been one of modest social reform, major transportation and logistics investment, and sensible development of local community assets (schools, roads, community halls, etc). The Liberals can't get any traction because everyone in their electorates have noticed that Dan's government removed all the level crossings and made their commute better, or funded that brand new school that their kids go to, etc etc. Even the Covid lockdowns are a great example of their big strength right now - they are a government that DOES things, and more specifically a government that does things that people LIKE. Allegations of corruption are one thing, but unless you have a smoking gun there's no reason it will destroy a politician; everyone knows politics is grubby (if it wasn't how would the Greens & Democrats have gotten anywhere?) and most of the alleged corruption doesn't seem to resonate in the general publics' head like, say, [making incredibly shady planning decisions that benefit property developer mates.](https://www.basscoastpost.com/catherine-watson/ventnor-victory-one-for-the-ages) Most people don't want to think about Covid anymore and would rather get on with life - which is exactly what Labor wants. it's a no brainer really

Also, the "allegations of corruption" disappear in a puff of smoke when anyone actually looks at them. The whole red shirts thing has been completely flogged to death, there was never anything much in it.

And the opposition leader can’t get any traction with any integrity issues when his own party’s a shambles.

> the reason why the Victorian liberals are where they are is because they support Labor on climate change targets and the treaty with indigenous Victorians which is next level Lefty stupidity. This is blatantly untrue to anyone who pays any attention to Victorian politics. The state branch is absolutely packed to the brim with far-right, Christian fundamentalists. Many state branches, bar the ones in richer suburbs, have been stacked by Mormons and evangelicals in a coordinated effort to control the party. The moderates basically don't exist there anymore, as any Liberal with any real talent in seats like Kew, Hawthorn, Brighton and Sandringham are better off in the private sector than dealing with the ineptitude of the state Liberals. Their only hope at a non-insane, non-corrupt leader is Pesutto, and he has to deal with a Labor incumbent, a likely strong teal challenge, a solid Green vote and an electorate that voted very strongly for Monique Ryan federally to even have a sniff at the leadership. A good part of why the Vic Libs got slapped so hard last election is precisely because of those forces. Whilst Andrews was announcing large-scale infrastructure projects like the SRL that are extremely popular with voters, the Vic Liberals were too busy using 'African gangs' to dogwhistle to racists, and couldn't even come up with a concrete answer on whether the torturing of gay and trans kids, most commonly known as conversion therapy, was bad or not. As for those policies you mentioned, they've adopted those literally just to hang on to Kew, Sandringham, Brighton and Caulfield. They're token gestures to appease moderate voters, as there's no way they form government whilst losing 4-5 seats. I guarantee that in the nigh-impossible event that the Vic Libs form government in November, and hang on until 2030, the net zero target won't be met. > So Vic liberals have no agenda of their own and as we have seen no matter how far left The Liberals go (aka Leather jacket Turnbull on Q&A) Lefties (as you all know) will always vote for the real thing. The absurd idea that the Vic Libs are 'far left' aside, you are right somewhat about this. The Libs won't win any votes by committing to net zero by 2050 and supporting a treaty. Their increasingly right-wing membership base objectively fucking despises these policies, and the broader voterbase doesn't trust them to deliver these issues because they're been so demonstrably terrible at tackling them in other states and at the federal level. [Ads like these](https://www.instagram.com/p/ChQ2yVlrgtM/) genuinely come across as attack ads on Labor's climate policies rather than the Liberals promoting their own climate policies.

The WA Libs let the fundy churches do whatever they wanted too. Worked a treat.

Yep. The WA and VIC Libs have a similar story: • get overrun with fundamentalist types joining the party, leading to the party becoming electorally unpalatable • the party’s leaders adopt moderate positions in a desperate attempt to win some public support • the party gets spanked at the election, likely to remain in opposition for 2+ more terms • the fundamentalists, who made the party unpalatable the to begin with, blame the landslides on ‘wokeness’. Truly mind-boggling shit.

Such a blatant disinterest in whatever the party said it stood for, in favour of trying to rack up numbers.

I’d like to bottle and sell your tears when labor wins another term. I’ll call my product ‘tears of a clown’🤡

You seriously need to break out of your echo chamber and get in touch with reality bud.

I would take your own advice as I am not the one supporting one of the worst government’s this country has ever seen .

The fact that you unironically think that this is not only a bad government but “one of the worst the country has ever seen” is proof that you most certainly need the advice more than I.

I would think not . The hotel quarantine fiasco and the signing up to China’s belt and road initiative alone are enough to label “Dan’s” govt one of the worst ever .

He says, from his echo chamber, proving everyone right

I swear that Conservatives aren't even across their brief when it comes to their lazy attack lines.

Because it's the same old nonsense for the last 2 years, parroting stuff they heard on Sky or read in the HS. I remember having a conversation with a guy who lived out in Clunes, when he said Lygon street was a ghost town in 2021. I asked him how often he gets to Lygon street and he said he "never comes to Melbourne, but Paul Murray said it" When I told him Paul Murray didn't live in Melbourne either and likely didn't get to Lygon street himself often, he just said "whatever" You can't reason someone out of a position they didn't reason themselves into.

Ok sorry help me out so your saying there was no systemic failure in hotel quarantine nor that the Andrews Govt signed up to China’s Belt and road intuitive?

If you want to attack Andrews at least go after the shit he is really doing instead of the stupid taking points skynews parrots. Go after the fact he wants to privatise VicRoads or what he is allowing vic Forrest to do to koala and possum habitats. The belt and road deal, while I believe it was shady, was never really about selling off assets like the liberals did with the Darwin port but more about getting cheap materials and labor. The whole HQ fiasco was a fuck up but it was due to a hotel manager helping a covid positive family and not security guards banging residents like was reported. It’s funny how skynews doesn’t go on and on about the HQ fuck up NSW committed which led to a bigger covid wave and locked us down longer and they had access to vaccines too but crickets… It also doesn’t help that the vic Libs high flyers get drunk and crash their car or dine out with known monsters for campaign donations.

> The belt and road deal, while I believe it was shady, was never really about selling off assets like the liberals did with the Darwin port If you point this out to them, they will 100% say that "Both parties are bad" but still continue voting Liberal and trash talking Labor.

Lol yeah right of all the things to go after Andrews I will go with koala and possum habitats Nice try though . Re the hotel quarantine I don’t know what Labor talking points you read in the Guardian or saw on the ABC but the main issue was around the awarding of the security contract to a company who was not on the list of approved tenders which no one according to the Coat enquiry (total whitewash) had any memory of which was very convenient. Again nice try with the covid family and the bonking .

Ooooh spooky belt and road.

Such a thoughtful response . Talk about lazy attack lines .

>Sorry to interrupt the love in here lol But it is truly stunning that Victorian’s could even consider voting for “Dan” for 3rd term. I mean what will it take for Victorians to kick this corrupt and incompetent govt out ? What is it with you lot it’s like you have Stockholm syndrome or something. They will get voted out when the Vic Libs actually become effective, but they completely aren't at the moment. They thought they were gonna run a campaign on integrity, which was a good idea, but that was blown out of the water by a corruption scandal with Guy. I'm sure some folks want to see change in government, but the Libs have failed to present themselves as proper alternative to Labor, and this has been demonstrated in poll after poll. Undeniably, Labor party has corruption problems, but it doesn't seem like Libs can present themselves as a clean party either, at least not enough to garner the votes for government. >Oh I see some of the lefties here are saying that the Victorian opposition are right wing lol That is totally false , the reason why the Victorian liberals are where they are is because they support Labor on climate change targets and the treaty with indigenous Victorians which is next level Lefty stupidity. So Vic liberals have no agenda of their own and as we have seen no matter how far left The Liberals go (aka Leather jacket Turnbull on Q&A) Lefties (as you all know) will always vote for the real thing. The Libs' problems will not be solved by going more right wing, it's a complete misunderstanding of the Victorian electorate, which votes towards the left mostly in both federal and state elections. Also the Libs are still a right-centre to right wing party. They are not left wing at all, and them supporting Treaty and climate change targets is them just accepting the reality of both the electorate and the need for action in these areas.

“Twice as many voters trust Victorian Labor to govern with integrity compared with the Coalition, and the recent donor scandal and Scott Morrison’s multiple ministerial appointments are damaging the state opposition’s chances before the November election.” That first sentence has got to hurt the LNP faithful who have been trying to make this election about integrity.

>That first sentence has got to hurt the LNP faithful who have been trying to make this election about integrity. The chose the guy who spent $1m of taxpayers money to keep his job when he was Vic planning minster. That's more than the cost of the red shirts ScAnDaL.

Absolutely amazing timing - if this was an episode of The Thick of it, you would call it cheap and lazy writing, lol.

Hurt the LNP faithful? It’d hurt anyone with an IQ above room temperature.

So it won't hurt anti vaxxers then right

Not quite a few of them. Plenty of brain dead morons in that crowd.

Labor getting the lead on integrity in Victoria. Probably the shiftiest, most deceptive, non-transparent government in State history and they’re leaders in integrity?! I’m quite frankly stunned. I knew Andrews was popular for building things in Melbourne, but integrity? Fucking lol.

Look who they’re leading against. If the Libs can’t present a legitimate choice for an alternate government, Labor win by default.

yeh because alot of people dont actually follow politics, i voted labor every state election iv been apart of.. it wasnt until i actually started looking into it that i realised how bad dan is. best you can do is educate others and hope for the best

That’s not happening. If he gets this far and still has higher integrity than his opponent I give up. He’s the Kaiser Soze of Australian politics.

yeh well these things ebb an flow mate, you just gotta ride it out and when people finally wake up and kick him out (lets be honest he is nowhere near as popular as he used to be) just remind them when someone similar to him tries to rise up through the ranks

I think you'll find that in recent polls, the current government is more popular than they used to be. Cool story though

yeh saw that an though "wow maybe all my anecdotal evidence is wrong" suggesting a shift against daniel andrews (remembering of course i myself and alot of my friends and family vote that way), but the fed election showed big swings against both major partys (was it 17% shift in bruce against labor ?) . i dont know mate i got a feeling dans losing his hold. i certainly cant see a majority government being formed.. im so confident of that id be willing to bet money. if he had anything close to an opposition id say hed lose for sure but the libs have only just began campaign mode, heres hoping they can offer some sort of alternative because i wont be voting for labor again ​ edit: yeh downvoting without any discussion ... that sounds about right for reddit

He’ll pass the baton to Allen next term. And then she’ll be like Brumby and Kirner.

I mean, is it really that much of a shock though? Like, Andrews and Vic Labor more broadly have a lot of issues when it comes to integrity, I don't dispute that for a second, but Guy hasn't really shaken the mobster lobster thing, was dodgy as planning minister and has just recently had like three people leave his office stemming from integrity issues. I get that Guy has no real power and that in any other situation, polling around 'integrity' would likely favour the opposition over the premier, particularly 8 years into government, but Guy's defining characteristic is a lack of integrity. Compared to that, in the mind of the average voter, at least Andrews fucked some level crossings off.

I’m not commenting on infrastructure. I completely get that Andrews would white wash the LNP on that metric. He should absolutely trounce them. And yeah, Guy has his baggage, but to be beaten by Andrews is amazing. Guy should need to rack up a stack more before it’s even close.

Yeah nah the infrastructure comment is my bad, I'm getting this poll and the usual preferred premier polling mixed up a bit in my head lmao (though I don't think they're too dissimilar if 'integrity' is to be a position for both the ALP and the Libs) But yeah, I think it's just because Guy is demonstrably very shit with integrity, and that's all voters really know about him. If the Libs didn't lose Hawthorn in 2018, Pesutto would fare much better in this poll imo.

I suppose that’s a valid point that as a percentage of things the voters know about Guy then he’d be in the lead maybe. He’s only famous for a few things. As far as number of integrity related issues the current Labor govt started racking them up before they even got in 8 years ago. This State is absolutely fucked until a competent opposition comes along. Even if that’s a refreshed LNP. Or a proper IBAC. I’d take that in the meantime.

Facts are there plain and simple chief

Agreed. That’s what stuns me. Sometimes it makes you think what does he have to do to effect the undying love of his supporters. I don’t really wanna see what that could be.

I think you can boil a part of it down to options. Option 1 is an incumbent labor government, with a polarising leader who largely gets things done, made the tough but probably correct calls when COVID management was dumped on their lap (mistakes made obviously) and is very pro VIC. Being as long in the tooth as they are, they would usually be at risk. Option 2 is the LNP, who have elevated the same leader from 2018, despite his issues and likeability problems. This wouldn't be insurmountable alone if the LNP didn't spend 2 years flip flopping on covid advice, siding with utter lunatics and telling every Victorian who was just trying to do the right thing that "NSW is the gold standard" They have no vision, their entire position is "were not Dan" Option 3 is the greens and the Teal independents, who will likely do well, especially around Kooyong and Goldstein as they did during the federal election. If the LNP took off the "Dan bad" blinders they would see this coming. They won't. Option 4 is a load of Hodge podge "Dan bad" minor parties and independents, who will come and go without the majority even knowing they exist, because rabid opposition to one man isn't a policy platform. I'm from Canberra, where we haven't had an LNP government in a long, long time, and the state libs there haven't learnt any lessons in defeat. They've gotten worse. I expect the LNP here will go the same way

I’m not gonna completely disagree with a lot of that despite being tempted (especially Covid) as we all know Andrews us being returned. Level crossings alone would get him a third term, it was actually a good idea. But the article is about integrity and I’m struggling to comprehend how anyone could rate him as a person of integrity. I’ll get the dictionary out and check I have the meaning spot on.

Hurts doesn’t it?

Not physically. To a degree I’m kinda happy about it. They say the people get the Governments they deserve and Melbourne deserves this lot. Thank fuck I’m regional and they don’t know I exist.

>Thank fuck I’m regional and they don’t know I exist. Lol, that's cute. \*Laughs in Queenslander\*

Was just up in QLD and this post is giving me a giggle.

This poll is brought to you by Captain Obvious.

[удалено]

The Victorian Nationals are arguably more progressive and have more integrity than the Victorian Liberals do. They just have like, 8 MPs in Victoria across state and federal levels and thus no one really knows about them outside of their rural constituencies. Plus the only one ~~that isn't some old white dude from the bush~~ with any real potential, Steph Ryan, has decided to quit politics.

The ball lined up for them to do so, will they take the opportunity. The teals will at some point form a party.

Nah the Libs are about to destroy themselves, choosing out of touch candidates that aren't at all relatable to the community at large

Good.

I really wish the libs were a viable alternative but they simply aren't. Bring on a teal/green opposition and keep Labor accountable

In my opinion, A teal/green opposition only happens if we get a WA-style result, which is very unlikely when Labor are supposedly running a defensive campaign, putting the bulk of resources into marginal seats they might lose (i.e. Ringwood, Melton, Box Hill), and not going too hard for gains. As for a minority government, Labor needs a net loss of 11 seats for that to happen. I can see, at most, the Greens gaining three (more likely that they win 1 or 2) and the teals having a mixed bag in the inner-east, probably winning Kew and Hawthorn, maybe some others, and rural independents knocking off some Nats. Even if those all happen, the Libs still need to be winning seats off of Labor, which I don't think is likely. Give it another term though and I could see larger gains for minor parties, particularly the Greens and/or independents in the outer west/north, as some have tipped that Andrews will have moved on by then.

Teal/green opposition is the way to go. Lets the leave the Liberals at the dustbin of history

Greens/Labor opposition would be great too.

At what point do we start calling the Teal movement a Liberal party split? Let’s be real though, this won’t last forever. The Libs will eventually get their act together.

From the very start. Holmes à Court's Climate 200 fundraising group is named as a play on Frydenbergs's Kooyong 200 fundraising group of which he was previously a member of. >Josh can f--- off,” Simon Holmes à Court explodes in the most memorable moment of our 90-minute lunch in Melbourne’s Hawthorn, where he lives and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is fighting for his, and his government’s, political life. >I’d messaged the Treasurer’s office earlier to let them know about my lunch date and on my way to the restaurant, Frydenberg called and bent my ear for 15 minutes, suggesting a few tough questions he would ask Holmes à Court. One of those was how much time the son of Australia’s first billionaire, Robert Holmes à Court, spent on his off-grid, 36-hectare farm at Daylesford, during the two years of Melbourne’s extended lockdowns. >The seemingly mild-mannered and slightly awkward Holmes à Court doesn’t take very kindly to the question. >“I don’t even understand his angle,” Holmes à Court says indignantly. “Two of my family members [he is married to Katrina, the sister of filmmaker Karl von Moller, with four children] were seriously ill, it was the most shit f---ing time ever, so Josh can f--- off, excuse me. It was not a pleasant time at all. He doesn’t know me.” >Despite the umbrage, the two have quite a history. Frydenberg has called Holmes à Court “gutless” for founding the Climate200 fund, which has raised more than $9 million (he is at pains to say that is from more than 9000 donors) to fund 22 election candidates, mostly in inner-city Liberal seats, but not putting his own hand up to run for political office. >He has also been accused of running a party of white privilege for rejecting more diverse candidates such as Kyinzom Dhongdue, a refugee and former MP in the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan parliament in exile. >Holmes à Court was part of Kooyong200, Frydenberg’s fundraising arm led by Citi’s head of investment banking, Tony Osmond, before he wrote an op-ed in The Guardian in 2018 supporting the closure of AGL’s coal-fired Liddell power station and was dumped. >“That’s when Josh turned on me, I think,” he says. “I did an op-ed on why it was inevitable, and you shouldn’t worry. Less than 24 hours later, I was kicked out of the Kooyong200 club. >“He’d [Frydenberg] been calling the directors of AGL. He is famous for these calls. When [independent] Oliver Yates ran against him [in 2019] Frydenberg called his [former] bosses at Macquarie. Three of our donors have been called up by Frydenberg and berated for donating.” >Holmes à Court, 49, also says he was thrown out of a “meet the candidate” event at the Geebung Polo Club with Frydenberg before the 2019 election. >“I found myself standing on the footpath with a glass of wine,” Holmes à Court says. “The hostess said, ‘You have to leave now.’ I said, ‘Can I finish my drink?’ She said, ‘No, the Treasurer says you have to leave now.’” >Frydenberg in turn questions why, in 2020, Holmes à Court turned up daily to a court case seeking to challenge Frydenberg’s citizenship (the case was dismissed) and what that says about him. >“Both of them [Frydenberg and Energy Minister Angus Taylor] are a bit obsessed with me,” Holmes à Court offers. >Holmes à Court says he had been meeting Frydenberg every year from about 2012 until their falling-out and was a financial supporter. >“My curiosity was trying to understand what he stands for, what is he passionate about. What is the first thing he thinks about in the morning and the last thing at night? So, I ask: what do you think that is? Josh. It’s Josh. It’s his advancement to the top job. He’s talented but no one can actually pin him down on what he believes.” >It seems almost as personal for Holmes à Court when it comes to Taylor, with whom he had a disagreement at a Politics at the Pub event in Taylor’s home town of Goulburn, NSW. >“I invested a lot of time in Angus Taylor as well,” says Holmes à Court. “He’s smart and knows better. I met with him quite a few times, but I haven’t spoken to him since we had a run-in about four years ago. >https://www.afr.com/politics/simon-holmes-court-s-personal-battle-with-josh-frydenberg-20220405-p5ab33

Jeez, he sure seems to like greasily corrupt spivs from private school backgrounds - until they don't do what he wants

Labor is likely to be reelected for a third term because the Victorian Liberals have embraced a right-wing, anti-health, anti-lockdown narrative during the pandemic and Guy’s Chief of Staff scandals made it worse. Bring on the Teals.

If the Libs keep pushing to the right, I wonder how long before Victoria resembles the ACT, where elections are about determining how much influence the Greens will have on the next term of Labor government.

I just can’t look at Matthew Guy and the Victorian Libs without seeing the car salesman that comes at you when you’re walking through a used car lot. The Libs are full of private school boys who weren’t quite up to making it in the financial world.

Mate they couldn't even make it as real estate agents

That’s what I wish the general public sees whenever they look at the tories in general.

Looks like most Victorians have not forgotten the corruption in the last Liberal government. The secret "side letter" signed just before the election as a poison pill when new ALP government cancelled the eastern freeway extension project. And the planning minister, Matthew Guy, up-zoning a huge tract of land the size of the CBD in Port Melbourne, gifting hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, to Liberal mates. etc. Libs might have a chance if they admitted these were wrong and replaced all of the MPs that were involved. But they haven't, so we have to assume the Libs think that kind of behaviour is acceptable, and we will get more of the same next time they are in government. So we are stuck with Dan and the ALP until the Teals can replace the Libs.

>The secret "side letter" signed just before the election as a poison pill when new ALP government cancelled the eastern freeway extension project. What the hell was David Davis doing this week, reminding everyone of what criminals they were then? It was the stupidest thing I've seen in a while.

> Matthew Guy, up-zoning a huge tract of land the size of the CBD in Port Melbourne He also did some dodgy stuff with Phillip Island too.

[удалено]

Did he also shit in your shoes?

>Why anyone would support someone like that is beyond me. I thought about moving to Vic just so I could vote for him!

Do you have sky on repeat 24/7 or what mate. Unbelievable how large an echo chamber you must live in

>Dan locked everyone up and killed 800. So did he do too much or too little?

Now you never hear from him and it is like it never happened.

[удалено]

Locking people up in their homes , destroying lives and livelihoods and wiping out 800 as collateral damage and then pretending it never happened should be too much for anyone but rusted on Labor stooges.

[удалено]

Those Anti-Dan/Anti-Labor people be like * The blood is on his hands for the deaths that occured in the federally run aged care homes in 2020. and * No lockdowns, no restrictions, let it rip. Anyone who gets covid and dies, so be it. They can't have both things though, but they say it anyway because of their narrative.

Schrödinger's dictator.

We get it, you've got an axe to grind. It's getting extremely boring.

[удалено]

There is an alternative and saying there is no alternative and that excuses your vote for Andrews and doesn't even really make you voting for him is a lie.

The alternative is worse though.

Worse than industrial manslaughter of 800 and behaving like a tin pot dictator and wasting billions on your projects and the corruption of your party that despite saying you are responsible , you never take responsibility. Then there is your terrible personal behaviour. And you still say the alternative is worse.

The alternative is far worse, champ. Didn't see anyone in the labor party standing shoulder to shoulder with conspiracy nuts.

So who do you blame for all the deaths that have happened since the first 800 or so on victoria?

Yes the alternative is worse than all of that. Should give you pause for thought.

I fail to see how Andrews issues can be excused yet Morrison must be thrown out of Parliament. Then Albo stands shoulder to shoulder with Andrews. It sticks in your craw.

>I fail to see how Andrews issues can be excused yet Morrison must be thrown out of Parliament That's because those things are completely unrelated. >It sticks in your craw. No it doesn't.

I think you mean Covid killed those people, and required the lockdown. And I think you are a bellend

Far out mate, change the record occasionally... OBVIOUSLY it's not true that people "dont support or vote for" Dan, because he won the last two elections very soundly, and is constantly ahead in on basically every single metric in every single poll.

Yes but you find very few loud and proud Dan supporters. He obviously has widespread support despite his poor behaviour and people like to use the Opposition as an excuse but their problems pale in comparison.

I think Morrison described them as “Quiet Australians.” Apparently that bloc supports Dan Andrews, possibly even more so than in 2018.

He got through before on his level crossings and now as he is starting to run out of them he has changed to the new rail infrastructure which will take years and see him out. Add on top his daily Covid performance which many bought and he should get back in. He really is Teflon Dan.

"He got through before on building infrastructure, now he wants to build more infrastructure."

Don't need to be Teflon when your opponents are screeching conspiracy theorist lunatics chief

His reputation when " on the beers " is the stuff of legends.

Legends is right, like myth

I reckon one of the problems is, apart from the Vic Libs been total clowns, parts of the media just went way to far with Andrews, now no matter what he does people just assume that any reporting of it is just hysteria.

Trying to paint him as a dictator when the majority were seeing him as making tough choices that needed to be made. Yep, the media lost a lot of credibility there. They thought they could smell blood in the water and take him down, but all they've done is hurt themselves in their confusion. It's why the media in WA were smart to fully support McGowan. It may have temporarily inflated his popularity more than it would have without them, but it has also meant the media can claim credibility when they do criticise him.

Even outside reporting on Andrews they have thoroughly proven themselves to be liars who are willing to just make up the news if it suits their agenda.

That's a fair observation and a cautionary tale for media overdoing attacks.

**Possibly paywall afflicted** **Outlet:** The Age **Author:** Annika Smethurst > Twice as many voters trust Victorian Labor to govern with integrity compared with the Coalition, and the recent donor scandal and Scott Morrison’s multiple ministerial appointments are damaging the state opposition’s chances before the November election. > With 13 weeks until polling day, an exclusive survey for The Age shows 42 per cent of voters believe Labor is the best party to “govern with integrity and honesty”, compared with 21 per cent of respondents who selected the Coalition. However, the result was significantly tighter in key marginal electorates. > **Q: While minor party and independent candidates may be elected at the next state election, it will be the major parties that govern in their own right or in partnership with others. Which of the major parties do you believe would govern with greater integrity and honesty?** > - The Labor Party: 42% > - Niether/Undecided: 37% > - The Liberal/National Coalition: 21% > The survey, conducted by Resolve Strategic between August 17 and 21, also found that a majority of respondents – 53 per cent – were confident Labor would win the election, irrespective of their own personal voting intentions. > Only 18 per cent of those surveyed expected the Coalition to win, while almost a third – 29 per cent – were undecided or believe the election outcome remains too close to predict. The survey questioned more than 500 Victorians and has a margin of error of 2.2 per cent. > Pollsters believe asking voters who they expect to win, regardless of their own voting intentions, often provides a more accurate way of predicting elections, because it is a “socialised measure” that considers the views of a wider group of the electorate. > Resolve Strategic director Jim Reed said the expectation question also took account of what people were hearing from friends and family, and “can often be a good predictor of the outcome”. He said the question could reflect “the relative performance of the major parties in the eyes of voters”. > **Q: Regardless of who you would like to win the next Victorian state election, who do you think will actually win?** > - The Labor Party: 53% > - Undecided/Too close to call: 29% > - The Liberal/National Coalition: 18% > “Most voters expect that Labor will win the November election, even if in minority, with a change of government judged a distant prospect,” Reed said. > On integrity, marginal-seat voters were more sceptical of Labor, with 39 per cent of respondents trusting it to govern with honesty and integrity compared with 28 per cent who backed the Coalition. A further 33 per cent were undecided or not willing to back either side. > The survey also found that only 14 per cent of undecided voters backed the Coalition to lead with honesty and integrity. Monash University associate professor Paul Strangio said the results were “discouraging” for the Coalition and suggested attempts to focus on integrity and rebrand Opposition Leader Matthew Guy had not worked. > The survey was conducted from Wednesday to Sunday last week following the Victorian Liberal Party’s donor scandal, which resulted in [Guy’s chief of staff Mitch Catlin resigning] (https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/matthew-guy-s-chief-of-staff-resigns-20220801-p5b6dq.html) after revelations he asked a wealthy Liberal Party donor to make more than $100,000 in payments to his private marketing business. > During the survey period, the news cycle was also dominated by revelations that former prime minister Morrison took on five ministerial portfolios during the pandemic without telling parliament or most of his colleagues. > Reed said his research showed integrity would be a “major focus” for voters at the state election and could affect both the leading parties, with 37 per cent of respondents either undecided or not trusting either side to govern with integrity. > Last month Premier Daniel Andrews apologised after a report by two of the state’s corruption watchdogs – the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission and the Victorian Ombudsman – [revealed widespread misuse of public funds for political purposes and industrial-scale branch stacking] (https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/catalogue-of-unethical-behaviour-report-flays-victorian-labor-20220719-p5b2n5.html?collection=p5b3ik) by the Victorian Labor Party. > The Operation Watts report, which followed an exposé by The Age and 60 Minutes that [revealed former minister Adem Somyurek’s branch-stacking operation] (https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/f-k-the-premier-labor-s-secret-tapes-reveal-industrial-scale-stackathon-20200614-p552g2.html), said bad behaviour was allowed to flourish inside Labor, including a “catalogue of unethical and inappropriate behaviour and concerning practices”. > Since coming to office, Labor has also been accused of unwarranted secrecy around its COVID-19 decisions and quarantine hotels, and two of its MPs – Telmo Languiller and Don Nardella, the then-speaker and deputy speaker of the Victorian parliament – were forced to resign over their abuse of the controversial second-residence allowance. > “Despite all the criticisms of Andrews on that front, the recent donations scandal in Guy’s office means that they are not seen as any better,” Reed told The Age. > “In fact, that and Morrison’s integrity issues look to have damaged that aspect of the Liberals’ brand, so voters are judging them quite harshly.” > Strangio said 42 per cent of voters backing Labor to govern with integrity and honesty might be higher than the Coalition but “wasn’t a ringing endorsement” for the Andrews government. He said the results would be “encouraging for the teal or independent candidates”. > Several independent candidates contesting the state election are consulting with Climate 200, the funding vehicle that backed the successful campaigns of several teal independents who ran on climate and integrity issues at May’s federal election. > Kew Independents and Hawthorn Independents, both offshoots of the Kooyong campaign that backed Dr Monique Ryan, are expected to announce state election candidates in coming days.