Protestors force Daniel Andrews to abandon press conference
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews cancelled a press conference on Wednesday, following advice from police after protestors picketed his appearance at the opening of a regional TAFE.
Andrews was touring a new TAFE in the regional Victorian city of Bendigo, but after protestors, chanting “kill the bill” and “coercion is not consent”, arrived outside the campus, the premier decided not to take questions from the media because of safety concerns raised by Victorian Police.
The protestors were demonstrating against new pandemic laws introduced by the state government, as well as vaccine mandates.
Before leaving, Andrews told the crowd, "to perhaps give you a quieter time, I'm going to go now". Protestors could be heard shouting insults such as “sack Dan Andrews” as the premier was ushered into a waiting car.
Daniel Andrews shows his face in public once and this is what happens... #DanNext #KillTheBill
Shot in Bendigo after a press conference. pic.twitter.com/GLuHkjgUhW— The Altruistic Capitalist (@kimchi2613) November 10, 2021
The incident coincided with daily protests in Melbourne’s CBD, including a protest on Monday night that saw roughly 200 people gather on the steps of the Victorian Parliament. COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar and Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton had to be escorted by police through the crowd.
Meeting again on Tuesday, the crowd of protestors outside Parliament included Shadow Treasurer David Davis and Liberal Democrat David Limbrick.
The laws being protested have been strongly criticised by Victorian Liberals and the Victorian Bar for being too broad and lacking proper scrutiny. Despite this, they passed the Legislative Assembly last month and are now awaiting the support of three crossbench MPs to pass the Legislative Council.
The proposed laws seek to replace existing state of emergency powers, and would empower the premier and health minister of the day to declare pandemics and enforce health directions. Under existing laws, only the state’s chief health officer, who is not an elected official, has these powers.
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