Daniel Andrews had two messages: Melburnians could hope a measure of freedom is not far away; but those daring to break the rules in the meantime will face the wrath of the state.
His approach could be distilled to a smallish carrot and a big stick: the 9pm-to-5am curfew was over, but if you dared to take liberties by holding a house party or a gathering in a car park, you’d be hit with a $5000 fine.
Daniel Andrews gives yet another daily briefing on Sunday.Credit:Getty Images
Still outstanding is the question of how big a stick will be applied to Andrews and his government for the circumstances that caused the latest crippling lockdown of Melbourne’s economy and society.
In the wake of a nightmare few days, during which the Premier gave frustratingly vague evidence to the quarantine inquiry that ended the political career of his health minister, Jenny Mikakos, Andrews might have been tempted to leaven his burnt image by announcing substantial easing of the restrictions he has imposed on Melburnians.
But Andrews has been scorched by hotter fires than the past few days.
The runaway cases of coronavirus that followed the failure months ago of the state’s hotel quarantine system clearly haunt him.
His decision to impose draconian laws and then to face the music before the media for 87 concurrent days – so far – has had the effect of locking him in to personal responsibility for suppressing the spread of the virus in Victoria.
That means he has to take the blame if everything turns sour again.
Thus, even with numbers of new cases down to a level that would be the envy of most leaders in the world today – a 22.1 daily average in metropolitan Melbourne over 14 days – he couldn’t allow himself to risk a repeat of a disaster that would surely strip him of the political capital he has left.
Such a reading could be too cynical, of course. Andrews has all along insisted that under COVID circumstances, he is vastly less interested in the politics than the long-term safe recovery of his state and its people.
Whichever way you might read it, the Premier, in announcing an easing of some restrictions on Sunday, has not chosen particularly generous options.
A return to school for primary pupils, an end to the curfew – with thundering threats to those who might see it as an opportunity to party – almost 30,000 more workers than previously flagged returning to their jobs, more than one householder being permitted to go shopping and tweaks to exercise rules and the like are little more than might have been expected.
What Andrews has really done is to offer hope by borrowing from the future, promising the "road map" back to some form of normality will no longer rely on prescribed dates but on continued reduction in coronavirus numbers.
In the meantime, he ladles onto Victorians his gratitude and his pride in their sacrifices, urging them to endure "a bit longer".
This reliance on the carrot of hope undoubtedly extends to Andrews' own unspoken desire that Victorians will continue to withhold the big stick when it comes time to make ultimate judgment upon his leadership, and of his government’s fitness.
Tony Wright is the associate editor and special writer for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMihAFodHRwczovL3d3dy50aGVhZ2UuY29tLmF1L25hdGlvbmFsL3ZpY3RvcmlhL2J1cm50LXByZW1pZXItYm9ycm93cy1mcm9tLXRoZS1mdXR1cmUtaG9waW5nLXRvLWF2b2lkLXRoZS1iaWctc3RpY2stMjAyMDA5MjctcDU1em92Lmh0bWzSAYQBaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAudGhlYWdlLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC92aWN0b3JpYS9idXJudC1wcmVtaWVyLWJvcnJvd3MtZnJvbS10aGUtZnV0dXJlLWhvcGluZy10by1hdm9pZC10aGUtYmlnLXN0aWNrLTIwMjAwOTI3LXA1NXpvdi5odG1s?oc=5
2020-09-27 09:40:00Z
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