by Cam Lucadou-Wells
Outside Daniel Andrews’s Mulgrave electorate office, his detractors gathered in furious agreement. Indeed, they came to blows over him.
Since the Covid lockdowns began, the office on the modest Noble Park North shopping strip had been targeted by protests, gunshots, vandalism, mystery powder in the mail and bomb threats.
Now on Andrews’s last day, a “solo protest” was staged by a dissenter with a megaphone.
Simone Merrett, of Frankston, blared the megaphone siren, and admonished the departing Premier in his absence for hours.
Top of her list was the “30,000 hectares” of native forest logged during the Andrews Government’s reign, as well as Covid vaccines killing her loved ones.
“My message is to make sure that his last day at the office is not fine.”
She drew praise from shopper Anna – “she’s my hero – Dan Andrews had us in jail for two years. He did not give a damn about Victorians.”
“He collapsed the economy for three (Covid) cases. Three cases and we were in jail.”
Then a disturbing fist-fight broke out between two passers-by.
One of them – a man in his 30s walking his pit-bull Ruby, the other – a senior woman with two fluffy dogs, a thick Scottish brogue and half the man’s height.
The man labelled Andrews a “w*****” and “murderer”, the other called the departing Premier a “pr***”.
But they didn’t see eye-to-eye on the solo protest.
“What’s the point? He’s leaving,” the woman said. “He won’t be here. It’s his office in name only. He never comes here.”
The man got agitated and up in her face. She slapped him, he thumped her in the head and dislodged her sunglasses.
Business owners got between them and defused the exchange. They comforted the shaken woman while her assailant fumed that he was in the right to ‘defend’ himself.
Two cars of police officers arrived shortly after. They said they’d check the Andrews office’s CCTV footage – one of several understandable security measures.
At the office’s tinted glass entrance, constituents must press a button, talk to a camera and ask to be buzzed-in to enter.
Journal News asked to speak to staff – a man in the reception area set 10 metres back from the door responded: “It’s a no comment from us.” The door remained closed.
As the dust settled, Cheryl Spender of Dandenong North arrived to take a photo of Andrews’s office on his reign’s last day.
“I have a lot of respect for Dan. I get a lot of flak on Facebook for that but I don’t need them in my life.
“This feels more of a death than when my parents died.”
Cheryl said she agreed with the Covid lockdowns. “They didn’t worry me a bit.”
“I don’t have money anyway. People say he ruined their lives – well your life would be more ruined if you’re dead.”
Asked about Andrews, a passer-by Hao Tran, of Dandenong North, said he was disappointed in the lockdowns, cover-ups and vaccines.
He said he only got the jab because it was mandatory at work. He had to put food on the table, he said.
“A lot of people are cheering for him going. But for me it’s a non-sequitur – it doesn’t change anything.”
At the last election, he voted for the Freedom Party. He didn’t expect the safe Labor seat to change hands at the upcoming byelection.
“There’s too much apathy. A lot of people don’t care.”
Business owners were polarized about their neighbour and local MP, who they had rarely seen in recent years.
Aff – a florist at Heart to Heart Flowers – said “Good riddance”, saying Andrews should be “jailed for his overspending”.
Vivid Ink Tattoos employee Yogi said: “I don’t like politicians.”
“I think he’s better than most Premiers we’ve had but that’s really not saying much.”
My Chemist staffer Will works next door to the Andrews office. He said today’s protest was the first there since the November state election.
He assessed the Premier as “not bad”.
“He did what he had to do. People are hating on him for doing what had to be done.”
Sitting alone at the opposite end of the shopping strip, Ali arrived from Pakistan a month ago.
Now “comfortable” and settled in Noble Park, he was asked what he thought of Andrews.
“I don’t know,” he said.
The first person we met without an opinion on the departing Premier.
