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You really have to wonder, sometimes, if the Establishment is just taking the piss.
Last week, news seeped out that former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews had been controversially appointed chair of the leading youth mental health service, Orygen.
This is an act of breathtaking chutzpah only somewhat short of appointing the head of the Beagle Boys gang to the board of the Duckberg Bank. ‘Dictator Dan’ was, after all, singularly responsible for the brutal policies that unleashed a mental health crisis on Victoria’s youth. Hell, even before he assumed the dictator’s mantle he was hospitalising innocent teenagers.
Even in ‘Cucktoria’, this is an insult too far.
Jeff Kennett has slammed the appointment of Daniel Andrews to lead a youth mental health organisation, claiming Victorians were suffering “depression, confusion and mental illness” as a result of the actions of his government […]
“He’s coming on as chairman in an environment when more people are suffering mental health issues than any time in our history, when so much of that depression, confusion and mental illness has been caused by his government's actions.”
Mr Kennett identified the Andrews Labor government’s world-record Covid-19 lockdowns and mismanagement of the economy as contributing to the state’s mental health crisis.
Ordinary citizens are kicking back, too. Angela Shearman, whose son took his life during the World’s Longest Lockdowns, is petitioning Orygen to quit with the bad-taste joke and dump Andrews.
“I lost my 16-year-old son to suicide in April 2020, during the first of Dan Andrews’ record six lockdowns. Louie might have been ground zero in the suicide statistics that were a consequence of the inhumane lockdowns that impacted our young people, but sadly, he is now one of many. Last weekend, my son would have turned 21.
“Instead, our family and his many friends had a fundraiser to support youth mental health charities. We raised over $25,000 for local regional mental health services that have been left decimated by recent cuts by the state government. I don’t want any more young people to be a statistic like Louie […]
“How can a divisive ex-premier in Andrews, who has wreaked havoc on Victoria, presided over the longest harshest lockdowns in the world, with the highest suicide rates, be appointed to chair Orygen, a prominent and respected youth mental health body. The optics alone are horrendous. It’s like Orygen and the ex-premier are gaslighting the most vulnerable people in our state. It’s unbelievable and I’m asking for your support to reverse this. Orygen must think again.”
While Andrews is clearly desperate to re-write the history books and reclaim the tattered, post-political remnants of his reputation, let’s remind ourselves of just what he did:
Over the course of two years, Victorians endured more than 250 days of lockdown, with most schools and many businesses closed, people allowed out for only an hour a day, travel restricted to within 5km of their homes, and a 9pm to 5am curfew.
At times, children were banned from using playground equipment with the then-premier chastising people for wanting to watch sunsets from their cars. Old people died alone in nursing homes, all because Andrews and his overzealous chief health officer thought that people should stop living from fear of dying.
When many Victorians eventually decided that they were sick of having their lives stolen from them, the Victorian police met freedom protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets and mass arrests.
The impact of Andrews’ CCP-wannabe authoritarianism can be measured objectively:
Dr Ferdi Botha, of the Melbourne Institute for Applied Economic and Social Research, reported that the prevalence of “psychological distress” in Australia rose from 6.3 per cent pre-pandemic to 17.7 per cent by early July 2020, with Victorians reporting the poorest mental health in the country.
In the independent review of Australia’s pandemic response by a panel, including former public service heads Peter Shergold and Peter Varghese, and senior business leader Jillian Broadbent, it was found that 44 per cent of Victorians had moderate to severe depression due to Covid restrictions, compared with 32 per cent living elsewhere in Australia.
Orygen chief executive Professor Pat McGorry tried to defend the appointment by arguing that suicides didn’t rise during lockdowns. Which conveniently ignores that suicide is often a lagging indicator. McGorry ought to have known better than trying to make such an excuse, especially after his own organisation recently noted:
“There has been an alarming increase in death by suicide for young people in Victoria … August data released by the Coroners Court of Victoria … shows that deaths among the 18-24 demographic have increased by 48 per cent compared to the same time last year.” The statement went on to say: “The trend so far this year (2024) is 6 per cent higher than the same time in 2023, which is the most deaths by suicide the state has seen.”
It’s a shame McGorry forgot to mention his own recent research when defending Andrews.
Instead of insulting Victorians by appointing their worst persecutor to a plum sinecure, Orygen would better serve the state by demanding a Royal Commission into Covid policies.
Clearly, they don’t dare.
