How Dan Andrews REALLY handles his adversaries: As a blockbuster book sheds light on his feud with Gladys Berejiklian and his controversies as leader, insiders disclose that he “freezes” his colleagues.
A new book reveals that the Victorian premier intended to resign before the 2022 election. A Labor MP stated, “Andrews should have avoided scandals and tragedies.”
Those who fail him or are no longer useful are placed in “Dan’s freezer.”
An alarming new book says that Daniel Andrews refuses to take their calls or respond to their text messages when they disagree with him.
Daniel Andrews is the title of Sumeyya Ilanbey’s biography, which details his climb from ‘factional hack’ to Victorian leader, complete with scandals and dramas.
Labor officials threw exceptional light on Mr. Andrews’ relationship with his then-NSW counterpart Gladys Berejiklian, his ‘ruthlessness’ as a ‘command-and-control’ leader, as well as his intention to resign prior to the forthcoming state election.
Mr. Andrews was contacted by Daily Mail Australia for comment on the charges contained in the book.
Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews (left) and his wife Catherine are shown in Fitzroy, Melbourne, on October 22, 2021.
‘Dan’s freezer’
Former associates of Mr. Andrews assert that the Victorian premier is ‘loyal to no one but himself’ and that he abandons political allies with whom he disagrees.
“He freezes you when you tell him anything he doesn’t want to hear. A labor insider added, “He won’t call, he may not accept their call, and he may insult them in a meeting.”
Ilanbey said that there was “rarely a conflict” between Mr. Andrews and his coworkers and that “he just ceases to return phone calls.”
“He f***ing never responds. Never responds to a text message unless he needs the information. It’s absolutely hilarious,’ said a former colleague.
According to the book, Victorian Labor data can be stored in ‘Dan’s freezer’ for weeks, months, or even years.
Ilanbey wrote: “No one has been spared from the freezer, not even those who have shown him the greatest loyalty.”
She asserted that Mr. Andrews has the unique capacity to “steamroll” anyone who opposes his “vision for governance.”
“His leadership style is command-and-control… Daniel Andrews directs all operations. Those who dare to poke their heads above the parapet will quickly find themselves in the freezer,’ she added.
In the book, neither the names nor positions of the political allies who were “frozen” are included.
Covid and Gladys Berejiklian
In a new book, the steady deterioration of the once-close relationship between Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews (right) and his NSW colleague Gladys Berejiklian (left) is detailed.
According to the biography, Mr. Andrews was furious with the NSW Premier in June 2021, when the Covid situation in Sydney began to spin out of control.
At the onset of the epidemic, when political opponents confronted then-prime minister Scott Morrison’s perceived lack of urgency, the premiers collaborated.
Australia’s federal, state, and territory governments formed a National Cabinet on March 13, 2020 to deal with the epidemic, but it only took the two largest states nine days to set their own agenda: closing all but essential services.
The days of Mr. Andrews and Ms. Berejiklian working in tandem were cut short by the June 2021 outbreak of the more virulent Deltra strain of Covid-19 in Sydney.
During his regular press appearances, Mr. Andrews criticized Ms. Berejiklian’s’soft response’ to the fresh wave of cases and called for a ‘ring of steel’ surrounding Sydney to prevent the virus from spreading to other states.
Ms. Berejiklian disregarded the advice, for which Mr. Morrison commended her, and the disease spread as Mr. Andrews had predicted.
Martin Pakula, a former minister and colleague of Mr. Andrews, argued that the relationship between the premiers of New South Wales and Victoria did not entirely break down, but Mr. Andrews was “quite pissed off” at the time.
Mr. Pakula told Ilanbey, “I believe that was partly because Daniel thought that Victoria had been unduly exposed by the careless approach that New South Wales initially took to Delta.”
Plans to resign were abandoned.
Thursday, November 11, 2021, Daniel Andrews (left) and Scott Morrison arrive at the Remembrance Day 2021 Service at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne.
Do Daniel Andrews and the Labor Party merit victory in the November 26 state election in Victoria?
In the previous eight years, they have been an effective government. 0 votes
No, they have been awful. Throw them out. 0 votes
Mr. Andrews’s intention to stand aside before the 2022 election is one of the most shocking discoveries in the book.
Ilanbey argues that Andrews believed he would not have been re-elected for a third term due to the nature of modern politics.
She claims he altered his mind after Labor’s 2018 landslide victory.
Then, “he realized he could win a third term and be enshrined in bronze among other long-serving premiers outside the Treasury Place of Parliament,”
Controversies and drama
Under the leadership of Mr. Andrews, Victorian Labor has been plagued by scandals ranging from the hotel quarantine debacle and branch stacking to the Red Shirts deception.
One former Labor MP told Ilanbey, “There are scandals and dramas (the Premier) should have avoided, and if he had been thinking, he would have.”
He has been very adept at avoiding scandals. Occasionally, the question arises, ‘Should they have been scandals to begin with?’
scandals that have shook the Andrews administration
ADEM SOMYUREK ABUSE
Small business, innovation, and commerce minister Adem Somyurek resigned from cabinet in May 2015 after his former chief of staff, Dimity Paul, accused him of bullying. Somyurek disputed the allegations.
* He resigned in July 2015 following an investigation by the Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary.
PATCH AND TED
* In November 2016, training and skills minister Steve Herbert resigned because he used his taxpayer-funded driver to transport his two dogs, Patch and Ted, between his homes in Melbourne and Trentham.
* Mr. Herbert told the legislature he had arranged for his dogs to be transported without him, but he did not know how often because the trips were not logged.
* He reimbursed $192.80 in travel fees and donated $1000 to an animal shelter in Woodend.
* Mr Herbert quit parliament in 2017.
ADDITIONAL HOME ALLOWANCE
* In 2017, former Speaker Telmo Languiller and his deputy Don Nardella were implicated in the theft of a country member allowance, which led to their resignations.
* In 2016, Mr. Languiller, who represented Tarneit, claimed $38,000 to reside in Queenscliff.
He returned the money and did not run for office again.
Since 2010, Mr. Nardella has claimed the allowance, initially residing in Ballarat and subsequently Ocean Grove.
* He initially resigned from the Labor Party rather than comply with Premier Daniel Andrews’ demand that he repay $98,000.
Mr. Nardella eventually agreed to a payment schedule and a $16,000 lump sum.
* The incident led to the establishment of a tribunal designed to remove MPs’ power over pay concerns.
* In April 2019, the former assistant treasurer of Victoria, Robin Scott, repaid $60,000 in second-home allowances he earned in error between 2014 and 2016.
RED SHIRTS
* During the 2014 election, Labor misappropriated $388,000 in parliamentary allowances to pay political campaign employees.
Approximately 21 former and current Labor MPs violated parliamentary rules by diverting staff to campaign for members.
Investigations by the ombudsman and the police lasted more than a year, but no criminal charges were brought.
PRINTING CASH FOR STACKS
In 2017, the electoral office of Upper House representative Khalil Eideh was accused of misusing printing allowances to fund party branch stacking.
* A parliamentary-wide audit uncovered dubious bills, which were sent to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission; his office was subsequently closed.
* He resigned as vice president in October 2017 and then retired following the 2018 presidential election.
This year, the IBAC charged four individuals, including father and son Justin and Umberto Mammarella, whose cases were resolved.
The CFA AND JANE GARRETT
* Former emergency services minister Jane Garrett resigned from cabinet in 2016 rather than approve a disputed firefighters’ union wage settlement that prompted the intervention of the premier.
* She subsequently lost her pre-selection bid for the state’s upper house after electing to abandon the vulnerable Brunswick seat in the 2018 state election.
* She continued to represent Eastern Victoria in the Legislative Council for over four years until her death from breast cancer on July 2, 2015, at the age of 49.
MODERATE FACTION BRANCH STACKING
* In 2020, Mr. Somyurek was accused of utilizing parliamentary employees to create fictitious members in order to accumulate political influence.
* He was the first of four ministers to leave their positions, followed a year later by Robin Scott, Marlene Kairouz, and Luke Donnellan.
* A joint ombudsman and IBAC investigation discovered unethical and improper behavior within the Labor Party, including bullying, taxpayer-funded jobs for unqualified individuals to perform factional tasks, pervasive nepotism, and signature forgery.
* Both Mr. Somyurek and Ms. Kairouz received negative evaluations, but neither will face criminal charges.
* Mr. Andrews apologized for the “disgraceful” conduct and pledged to follow all 21 recommendations of the Operation Watts report, in addition to additional legislative reforms for both parties.
Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews (left) is shown with then-prime minister Scott Morrison (center) and then-premier of New South Wales Gladys Berejiklian at the National Cabinet (right)
Political brawler
Ilanbey concluded her exhaustively researched book by stating that Mr. Andrews has always acted as if there is nothing to see during times of crisis.
She remarked, “When things become extremely difficult, he reverts to his roots as a factional brawler: angry and cruel.”
However, she stated that he may lose his position as premier in the November 26 state election in Victoria.
These distinguishing characteristics of Andrews, who has always matched idealism with a keen awareness of what the public can allow, could be the Achilles’ heel that brings down his government.
Sumeyya Ilanbey’s Daniel Andrews, published by Allen & Unwin, is currently available in bookstores and online.
The new book by Sumeyya Ilanbey, Daniel Andrews, is currently available in bookstores and for download.