It’s been a minute, but Victorian Premier Dan Andrews is finally back on the job and has wasted very little time getting back to his usual business at hand: being somewhat late to press conferences and asking if everyone’s right to go.
Andrews has been off work since March 9th after he slipped and fell at a holiday property, fracturing his T7 vertebrae and breaking several ribs in the process.
Today, after leaving the state in the hands of deputy premier James Merlino for a bit, Andrews returned to work and was quick to rattle off one of his greater hits, the customary “everyone right to go?” question at the top of a press conference.
Arriving to proceedings in typically late fashion, Andrews picked things back up where he left them 111 days ago.
Everyone right to go? #WelcomeBackDan pic.twitter.com/DWFMlKFLuu
— VeryMiffed is voting #Yes23 ❤️💙 ❤️💛🖤 💦💨☀️ (@VeryMiffedF) June 28, 2021
Speaking from the Metro Tunnel site of the future Arden train station, Andrews appeared in front of cameras wearing high-vis and a hard hat. Which is really taking the whole “back to work” thing and spinning it out into pretty brick-subtle areas.
While he did once again thank his family for supporting him throughout his recovery – both he and wife Cath Andrews revealed yesterday there may have been some genuine concern for his life at the time of the accident – attention quickly turned to the (frankly, extremely stupid) conspiracy theories regarding his accident; theories that were sensationally amplified by the opposition Liberal Party.
On that point, Andrews stated “I don’t know that you can put an end to some of these vile stories. People who make up their own facts, you’re best not really to get into an argument with them. It’s very difficult to win those arguments.”
Andrews also pulled no punches in addressing those in the Liberal Party responsible for amplifying the bizarre claims, stating “As for those who tried to politically weaponise it, they’re irrelevant to the work I do, and I won’t waste my time or my breath on them.”
“People of this great state passed their judgement on that group of individuals a couple of years ago. They’ll get a chance to make their judgements now in another 18 months,” he said.
Old mate’s back, alright.
