E&OE TRANSCRIPT
SUBJECTS: Daniel Andrews resignation, Victorian Labor leadership
LAURA JAYES, HOST: Let's return to the big political news really of the week, we might say the year, and that is Daniel Andrews is, has resigned, and his tenure officially ends at 5 pm this afternoon. Let's go live to Victorian Minister in the Federal Government and Government Services Minister Bill Shorten. Bill, good to see you. Thanks so much for your time. He's loved and loathed. Which side of the fence do you fall on?
BILL SHORTEN, MINISTER FO RTHE NDIS AND GOVERNMENT SERVICES: I fall on the positive side. He's been a tough leader in very tough times. There's no doubt lockdowns were really incredibly difficult for lots of Melburnians and Victorians, and so that those tough decisions leave a legacy where some people can't stand him, and other people are incredibly grateful to him.
JAYES: The maxim of you should leave a place better than you found it. Is that true for Daniel Andrews, do you think?
SHORTEN: I think it's true for all of us, isn't it, Laura? I was just thinking about my own neighbourhood. Mount Alexander College, a high school which had been neglected and dilapidated. Great teachers, great students, but poor resources. They've just opened their new building. Millions of dollars of investment. The Ascot Vale Heights Special School. Millions of dollars there, more to come. I see what we've also done and what Mr. Andrews and his team have done with health care, down the road from my office will be the new Joan Kirner Hospital. One of the biggest investments in a new hospital in the southern hemisphere of Australia. Our level crossings, I mean, Melbourne's a very flat city, which means that we have a lot of road and rail crossing over each other. We've now removed a whole lot of those blackspots. And so, I do think he leaves the place better than he found it.
JAYES: Do you think it's fair that his legacy will be as much for his achievements, which are contested, but for what he did that was unpopular but seemed to get away with?
SHORTEN: Well, when you say seemed to get away with I understand there's a narrative which says that from some people saying he's just a bad person, bad Premier, but he did get voted three times. So, when you say get away of what you're really doing is saying the voters got it wrong not once, not twice, but three times. I don't think that's fair. Sure, there were some tough decisions he made. I wasn't in love with every decision he ever made. But I do think that on balance, you know, we've had bushfires, we've had floods, we've had an overdue need for investment in our infrastructure both in the country and the city, and of course the pandemic. So, it was difficult. I remember back very clearly in March and April and May and June of 2020, and all governments were scrambling to work out how to cope with this pandemic. Let's be honest, the former Prime Minister, Mr. Morrison, vacated the field, so Premiers did have to step up all around Australia and Mr. Andrews did.
JAYES: What now? How does Victoria change and does the way a Labor government operates, whoever it is under, whoever the next Premier is, does that change a lot, do you think? Because do you see Daniel Andrews as being, you know, quite a big figure? You know, he led, made decisions. He wasn't known for his collaboration with caucus all that much.
SHORTEN: Oh, every leader brings their own style to the job. There's no question as you say, Mr. Andrews cast a giant shadow over Victoria for a decade. We won't see his like again. I think whoever the Labor Party in Victoria picks will bring their own style. I think there'll be some similar things, the commitment to investing in our health care system and our schools, in our transport infrastructure. But every leader brings their own style, just like every Sky News interviewer brings their own style.
JAYES: But you like us all, don't you?
SHORTEN: There are many of you who I think are excellent.
JAYES: Okay. Well, a big day today in Victoria. Any predictions as to who it might be? What leadership team we're going to see after midday?
SHORTEN: I predict that there will be a replacement. The one thing you learn in politics, as you probably know in the media, as we know in life, no one is irreplaceable. One person goes, another person steps up. I'm sure whoever Labor picks will do the job very well. We’ll wait and see
JAYES: Bill Shorten, thank you for your time
SHORTEN: The last thing the state boys and girls need is a fed telling them what to do. Cheers.
JAYES: Yeah, they don't like that even if it is on the same side of politics. Bill Shorten, thank you. Appreciate it.
SHORTEN: All right. See you, bye.