Off the back of former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews' resignation after nearly a decade as the state's Commander-in-Chief, the President of the Nationals in Victoria, Peter Walsh, appeared on Flow this week to discuss the fallout of Andrews' leadership.
Walsh implied that the overall sentiment sweeping Victorians after the resignation of the former Premier is one of relief, particularly as a result of the extreme lockdown measures imposed on citizens during the COVID pandemic.
"My view is that a lot of people just breathed a huge sigh of relief that the Premier was finally going...particularly post COVID...I think people are glad to see the back of the Premier," Walsh said.
Walsh also painted a bleak picture for Victoria as far as the economy of the state is concerned due largely to the handling of the COVID pandemic.
"With the way the Victorian economy has gone with it [COVID pandemic], its the almost insurmountable debt that our grandchildren and great-grandchildren are going to inherit in this state, the cost overruns and all the projects," said Walsh.
Despite the end of Daniel Andrews' reign in Victoria - even after a crushing election win last year - Walsh said Victorians shouldn't raise their hopes if they are expecting a change of leadership style under new Premier Jacinta Allan.
"I think tragically with the new Premier, it's business as usual, she [Jacinta Allan] had a chance to reset the agenda but she's come out very firmly saying that she's going to continue down the same path as the Andrews government was," Walsh said.
"So it's going to be more of the same, more debt, more issues around cost overruns and mismanagement of major projects, more nepotism, more jobs for the mates from the Labor Party rather than governing the state for all people."
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