You’ve got to hand it to him, I suppose: few politicians are as Teflon-coated as Victoria’s “Dictator Dan”, premier Daniel Andrews. Family car mows down a cyclist? Heck, just drive off with the full blessing of attending police, no breath test needed. Detectives asking to arrest multiple members of his government? Just ignore it and high-ranking officers will duly overrule them.
Police videoed smashing a protester’s head onto the concrete floor of Flinders St station? Just pay the victim off and shut him up.
But they can’t gag everyone.
Filmmaker Mark A Tarrant is making a documentary about the particularly brutal incident during Melbourne’s sixth Covid lockdown — and attendant protests — in September, 2021.
“We have interviewed for our documentary the mother (Margaret) and mental health social worker (Donna) of Dan Peterson-English, who was slammed to the floor of Flinders St Station by a policeman during the lockdown in Victoria – Donna said the earphones Dan was wearing saved him from greater brain injury as they absorbed the impact when he hit the floor with the side of his head.
“She showed us the broken headphones. Dan now lives in a care home with a fulltime carer. The police gave him a payout and have gagged him from speaking – but his mum can speak.
Politicom
Dan Peterson-English is not the only Victorian whose silence Dictator Dan is trying to buy.
The Andrews government has settled a class action for the rapid lockdown of residents in public housing during the height of the pandemic, but the Premier continued to skirt demands for an apology.
About 3,000 tenants of nine inner-Melbourne public housing towers were detained in their homes in July 2020 to contain a COVID-19 outbreak, which saw armed police surround their apartments.
The residents have now been offered a $5 million settlement – or roughly $1,666 per resident – after seeking damages for false imprisonment and assault.
The class action raised in 2021 claims the state wrongly detained plaintiffs, and wrongly threatened them with physical harm if they tried to leave.
Residents have repeatedly asked for a simple apology.
But, as we’ve all seen in the aftermaths of the seemingly endless corruption inquiries in Victoria, Dan doesn’t “do” apologies.
Mr Andrews skirted questions by media whether he would now apologise or if the class action could have been avoided altogether had he said sorry in the first place.
“I’m not here to reflect on the class action,” he fired back.
And the victims of Victoria’s Covid thuggery can like it or lump it.
According to the Department of Health website, plaintiffs have one of three options; to accept the settlement, opt out of it or object to the government’s proposal.
Alfred Street tower resident Barry Berih said residents would discuss the offer but wanted an apology instead of a financial settlement.
Sky News
The brutality of Victoria’s police state so disgusted long-serving officer Krystle Mitchell that she resigned in disgust.
“I witnessed government control increase in every aspect of our daily lives,” she said.
“Victoria Police turned from its ‘community-focused’ policing mentality toward a strict enforcement of health orders above all else.
“Our organisational values seemed to be thrown out the window. Video footage was emerging almost daily of police being over-zealous.
“Dan was on our TVs every night scolding, berating or gas-lighting us. The protests pushing for less government control seemed pretty reasonable and not all that surprising to me, but my organisation’s response to them quickly escalated beyond any point of reason.”
For speaking out, she alleges, she has been effectively blacklisted in Victoria.
It is hard not have doubts that you have been blacklisted when you are successful in an interview process, get the job offer, then have that job offer pulled after HR sees your Discernable interview.
The BFD
Well, that’s just how Dictator Dan’s Victoria rolls, it seems.