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EDITORIAL: Leadership key in Labor plans

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews was swift in swinging the axe and removing Adem Somyurek from his ministry in the wake of explosive revelations regarding Labor Party branch-stacking.

In fact he left few in doubt about his feelings and position in publicly condemning the behaviour of his former minister, the subject of a damning television news reports on Sunday night.

Mr Andrews had little choice but to act decisively, especially from a governance perspective, with Victoria trying to fight its way through and emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.

While his actions were profound, it is what happens next, in the next few months surrounding the fallout from this development, that means everything.



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This is particularly critical for people living in regional Victoria.

Mr Somyurek was in charge of business and local government ministerial portfolios, which will be at the core of how the state pulls itself from socio-economic upheaval. 

Regional communities in areas such as the Wimmera, Mallee and Western District will have to navigate their way carefully through new levels of local government fragility as well as business uncertainty. 

This navigation will most likely require significantly different and probably need more creative pathways than metropolitan areas.

In emerging from the crisis, the performance of local government and business, sectors already stretched, will be paramount in establishing any sense of security for provincial and regional cities and rural towns and their communities.

The scenario could go either way – the regions might bounce back with a boom, perhaps on the back of primary industry – or they could struggle and stagnate and lose any traction they might have previously enjoyed.

This is an area that will need profound, objective and positive government leadership, particularly from a minister or ministers directing traffic under the premier.

Mr Andrews has announced his desire to give the key job to parliamentary secretary and Member for Essendon Danny Pearson.

We wait with interest to see whether this can happen after revelations the move would automatically face a constitutional hurdle based on the number of ministerial appointments from lower and upper parliamentary houses.

But regardless of who ultimately lands the job – Mr Pearson or some other representative – circumstance demands they be, and excuse the pun, an ‘absolute gun’.

We don’t have the luxury of any wriggle room in getting the immediate let alone long-term direction of these ministries right.

Mr Andrews, apart from needing a replacement for Mr Somyurek, will also need to fill vacated positions left by Assistant Treasurer Robin Scott and Consumer Affairs Minister Marlene Kairouz. Both have resigned from State Cabinet in the wake of the scandal.

The entire June 17, 2020 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!