Victoria scraps Daniel Andrews statue plan, reviews commemoration policy

Consensus Summary

Victoria’s new Premier Ben Carroll, elected in July, has scrapped plans for a bronze statue of Daniel Andrews, who served as premier from 4 December 2014 to 27 September 2023—a tenure exceeding 3,000 days. The decision reverses a 1999 policy introduced by former Liberal Premier Jeff Kennett, which automatically awarded statues to premiers serving over 3,000 days in Treasury Place. Four statues—of Sir Albert Dunstan, Sir Henry Bolte, Sir Rupert Hamer, and John Cain Jr.—were commissioned in 1999 under this rule, though Sir James McCulloch, who also served over 3,000 days in the 1860s and 1870s, was excluded. Carroll’s government will instead appoint an independent panel to review how Victoria commemorates officials, redirecting the unfinished Andrews statue project toward an alternative subject. Opposition Leader Jess Wilson had previously pledged to block the statue if her party won the November 28 election, criticizing taxpayer spending. Both sources agree the contract will not be canceled to avoid costs, and Kennett’s policy remains controversial, with calls to honor Joan Kirner, Victoria’s first female premier from 1990, who served less than two years.