Senior government ministers blasted the opposition for a “disgraceful” line of questioning,accused them of peddling “QAnon craziness” and claiming the matter was a test of the opposition’s leadership on whether it plunged the Liberal Party brand into a “Trump conspiracy theory wormhole”.
“We are dealing with a global pandemic,for goodness sake,” Mr Merlino said. “I treat[the opposition’s questions] with the contempt that it deserves. This is more about how the Liberal Party treat people. No decency,no respect,they should be ashamed of themselves.
“I am honestly not going to spend much time on this. I think it is a disgraceful act by the Liberal Party ... They should be ashamed of themselves,quite frankly.
“You can’t put to bed conspiracy nutters and if the Liberal Party want to act disgracefully,that is a matter for them.”
In its statement,Ambulance Victoria said the Premier had asked to attend a local hospital “in order for the attending crew to remain within the area once cleared from the case”.
Paramedics,in consultation with Mr Andrews,determined Peninsula Private Hospital’s emergency department was the most appropriate hospital to treat the Premier’s injuries.
Ambulance Victoria issued its statement less than 24 hours after Ms Staley’s press release,in which she said the Premier “owed” Victorians answers about the circumstances of his injury. On Tuesday morning,she defended her questions and reiterated that the salaries of senior politicians who take extended leave should be cut to a basic MP’s salary,about $200,000 a year.
Shadow treasurer Louise Staley thinks it’s suspicious there is no footage of the stairs Daniel Andrews fell down.Credit: Jason South
“It’s months since this happened and yet nobody’s got footage of the stairs,nobody’s got really any idea where it happened,” Ms Staley said. “And this is a very visual world these days where we seem to have everything out there on the media,but not this.”
Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien backed his shadow treasurer.
“There’s no reason to suspect that everything that has been said isn’t true,” he said. “I think it is true,but it’s not necessarily the whole story,and it’s OK to ask questions.”
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The Coalition has not provided any evidence to suggest the Premier was engaged in any wrongdoing,and instead said answers were necessary to quell rumours.
Treasurer Tim Pallas and Trade Minister Martin Pakula accused Ms Staley of peddling conspiracy theories fuelled by “QAnon craziness”.
“I think,quite frankly,it’s disgraceful,” Mr Pallas said outside Parliament House on Tuesday morning.
“I genuinely think in politics you get to fight for things you believe in,you get to stand for something,and ultimately the shadow treasurer,and by implication her party,think it’s an appropriate thing to trade in tinfoil-hat conspiracies.
“I don’t think Dan Andrews drove the sub that took Harold Holt to China,he didn’t recognise a fake moon landing … This is nonsense. We know it’s nonsense. It’s QAnon craziness peddled around the community to create an atmosphere of uncertainty.”
Mr Pakula said Mr O’Brien should slap down Ms Staley’s comments,and not appear to be backing conspiracy theories.
“It’s the sort of thing you expect to see from a QAnon,Trumpy,wing-nut ... not from someone who wants to be the shadow treasurer of Victoria,” Mr Pakula said.
“We’ve seen it in America – it’s not hard for a political party to go down a kind of Trump,conspiracy theory wormhole and get stuck there. And the only thing that stops it is leadership. These sorts of mad conspiracy theories are not worthy of a person who wants to be treasurer and a party that wants to be government.
“It’s a test for the opposition,and whether or not they’re going to be a fully-fledged conspiracy theorist party.”
Veterans Minister Shaun Leane said the Victorian opposition was the “worst” the state has ever had.
“They’re driven by hate,” he said. “They obviously hate the government a lot – but they obviously hate each other more.”
The Age last monthrevealed the family of trucking magnate Lindsay Fox had sought legal advice over whether to sue an obscure Queensland website that posted rumours implicating the wealthy family in the Premier’s fall.
Mr Andrews has issued only a handful of statements since his fall on March 9,and pending advice from his medical team,he is scheduled to return to work sometime in June.
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