'Dictator with a capital D.I.C.K': Dan Andrews' Labor colleagues turn on him over 'disgusting' treatment of Health Minister Jenny Mikakos - who quit after premier blamed HER for hotel quarantine disaster
- Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos resigned from parliament on Friday
- Premier Daniel Andrews blamed her for the state's hotel quarantine blunder
- Spread of COVID-19 cases from returned travelers to community led to outbreak
- Labor MP's have lashed out at the party leader after Ms Mikakos' resignation
Colleagues of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews have turned on him after he blamed the hotel quarantine disaster on Jenny Mikakos.
The former Health Minister resigned from parliament on Friday, 24 hours after Mr Andrews told an inquiry Ms Mikakos was 'accountable' for the quarantine program.
Several Labor MPs are reportedly appalled with Mr Andrews in the wake of the announcement and have lashed out at the state leader.
'It has put a lot of people on edge,' an anonymous minister told The Herald Sun.
'He is a tyrant. He is a dictator with a capital D.I.C.K,' another said.
Premier Daniel Andrews (pictured) blamed Jenny Mikakos for the state's hotel quarantine blunder, leading several Labor MP's to lash out against him
Former Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos (pictured) resigned from parliament on Friday
'He doesn’t care about anybody but himself. Jenny knows he lied and I don’t like the way she was treated.'
When asked about Ms Mikakos on Sunday, Mr Andrews said he had not contacted the former minister since her resignation.
'No one is happy to see someone who is an incredibly hard working member of the team go, but if you make a decision that you can’t serve in the cabinet then you can’t serve in the cabinet,' he said.
Mr Andrews named mental health minister Martin Foley as Ms Mikakos' replacement.
It came after Ms Mikakos posted to Twitter that her integrity had been 'undermined' and that she could no longer serve in the Premier's Cabinet.
The ugly, public break-up, comes as pressure mounts on the government over their handling of the state's quarantine hotel blunder.
But Mr Andrew's did his best to side-step questions regarding his role in the quarantine saga and remains adamant he will not be following suit and has no plans to resign in the midst of the public health crisis.
There have been widespread calls for heads to roll over the handling of the hotel quarantine and Ms Mikakos is the first domino to fall.
On her way out the door she did not hesitate to take one final swipe at Mr Andrews, saying she too wanted to know who was responsible for the hotel disaster.
'I have never wanted to leave the job unfinished but in light of the premier’s statement to the Board of the inquiry and the fact that there are elements in it that I strongly disagree with, I believe that I cannot continue to serve in his Cabinet,' Ms Mikakos said in a statement.
'I am disappointed that my integrity has sought to be undermined.
'I have today written to the Governor of Victoria to resign my commissions as a Minister effective today. I will also be resigning from the Parliament.'
Two walkers wearing face masks wander through Treasury Gardens in Melbourne on Saturday
Pressure on Ms Mikakos mounted after her testimony to the inquiry on Thursday was conflicted by Mr Andrews' the following day.
Ms Mikakos told the hearing that 'to the best of her recollection' she did not know private guards were enforcing the scheme until late May when the Rydges hotel suffered a coronavirus outbreak.
But a video of a press conference on 29 March - two days after the quarantine scheme was announced - shows Ms Mikakos standing alongside jobs minister Martin Pakula as he said: 'Passengers returning will now undergo mandatory two-week quarantine at those Melbourne hotels with security guards in place.'
In a written statement to the inquiry, Ms Mikakos wrote: 'I believe I first became aware of the use of private security guards... after the Rydges outbreak occurred in late May 2020.'
Speaking at the inquiry on Thursday she added: 'That's to the best of my recollection… because I would have had no reason to turn my mind to issues around security guards until we had that first case and the first outbreak at the Rydges hotel.'
Jenny Mikakos said she cannot continue to serve in Mr Andrews' cabinet in a statement on Twitter
Asked if the video contradicts Ms Mikakos' evidence to the inquiry, her spokesman told Daily Mail Australia: 'The Minister categorically denies that she has misled the Board in any way and has sought leave to provide information to the Board to that effect.'
Coronavirus escaped from hotel quarantine in late May and sparked the state's second wave which has seen more than 700 deaths.
The Victorian government has faced criticism for not accepting ADF troops and instead using private security guards, some of whom flouted social distancing rules and failed to properly wear PPE, witnesses told the inquiry.
Ms Mikakos said she was 'not part of the decision-making process' to use private security guards.
Despite the litany of criticisms aimed at the embattled state politician and her handling of the once-in-lifetime crisis, she tried to distance herself from blame.
'With the benefit of hindsight, there are clearly matters that my department should have briefed me on,' Ms Mikakos said in her resignation letter.
'Whether they would have changed the course of events only the Board and history can determine.
A walker wearing a face mask crosses a bridge over the Yarra River in Melbourne on Sunday
'For three months I had looked forward to learning who made the fateful decision to use security guards. Victorians deserve to know.'
But while Ms Mikakos acknowledged she is responsible for her department and that 'the buck stops with me'.
She also said 'it is not her responsibility alone' and does not believe her actions contributed to the second wave of cases which have ravaged the state.
'Since the start of the pandemic. I have worked every day with a single focus - to protect Victorians from an unprecedented global public health threat in our life-time,' Ms Mikakos said.
'It has been a responsibility for which I have felt only a sense of urgency and resolve.
'The sacrifice and suffering of Victorians is something that I feel deeply.'
Moments after her resignation, Victorian Shadow Health Minister Georgie Crozier took to social media to blast Mr Andrew's leadership.
'A fish rots from the head down... he can't think by Mikakos going all is fine. It is not. He needs to go too,' she posted.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMif2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmRhaWx5bWFpbC5jby51ay9uZXdzL2FydGljbGUtODc3Nzc3MS9EYW4tQW5kcmV3cy1MYWJvci1jb2xsZWFndWVzLXR1cm4tdHJlYXRtZW50LUhlYWx0aC1NaW5pc3Rlci1KZW5ueS1NaWtha29zLmh0bWzSAYMBaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGFpbHltYWlsLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvYXJ0aWNsZS04Nzc3NzcxL2FtcC9EYW4tQW5kcmV3cy1MYWJvci1jb2xsZWFndWVzLXR1cm4tdHJlYXRtZW50LUhlYWx0aC1NaW5pc3Rlci1KZW5ueS1NaWtha29zLmh0bWw?oc=5
2020-09-27 12:04:44Z
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