Angry Victorians Party

Summary

Policies & Commentary

Oh look, it’s the Australian Values Party, just re-badged and with a much narrower focus. Thriftily, they’ve accomplished this without having to produce new merchandise – same initials, same colours, even the same website – and the mover and shaker behind this shiny new-not-really-new party is still Heston Russell. See our overview from the Federal Election for details of his unorthodox fundraising activities.

Unlike their parent, though, Angry Victorians (hereafter referred to as AV) is not concerned with the big issues. Basically, they’re a reactionary party, and what they’re reacting to is Premier Dan Andrews.

Oh, they’re not going to say that, not out loud where anyone might hear them. It’s all dressed up in lofty statements about accountability, and end to corruption, how they’re going to call out the bullshit and make Victoria a place where small business can run free. But one look at their handy-dandy downloadable flyer tells you where they’re coming from:

Subtle, no?

You see, when AV says “accountability”, they’re not talking about any kind of far-reaching Integrity or Anti-Corruption Commission. They don’t want wide and deep scrutiny of all sides of politics. They only want to see the current government hauled up to account for their emergency pandemic measures. Because they’re angry, you see. It’s right there in the name. They’re mad about curfews and lockdowns and mandates, oh my. (Oh, and just how much these dastardly politicians were getting paid while all this was going on).

In the words of candidate Chris Burson, … everyone I have spoken with has been angry. It’s an underlying current that unites people regardless of colour, creed, class. Anger is the same emotion/feeling regardless of religion. Everyone has a line. Whether it was mandates, curfews, not being able to see loved ones, not being able to say good bye to loved ones, losing their relationships and family to divisive government decisions.

And this is Dan’s fault. In case you weren’t sure about that, AV have a helpful hashtag, #danmustgo.

It’s worth mentioning here that Burson is a former police officer, and AV’s designated Political Accountability Officer. Apparently he will be the one to haul Dan Andrews away in irons, as per their flyer.

AV want to do away with the Emergency Powers that were legislated last year. This legislation was designed to provide proper structure, support, and accountability for actions a future government might need to take in case of future crises like the pandemic we lived through since 2020 – and are still living through today. It actually builds in transparency, and ensures that the government can’t just go off half-cocked. But that’s not good enough for AV. Because they’re angry.

They don’t have any policies to replace this legislation, just some motherhood statements about businesses being grown-up enough to decide whether it’s okay to risk the health of their staff and their customers, thank you very much. But they are very interested in punishing those who dared to institute public health measures that saw off three consecutive waves of covid, protected vulnerable Australians in state aged care, and secured vaccines when Victoria was shafted by the previous Coalition government.

The inclusion of serial party-hopper Catherine Cumming in AV’s candidate list is a huge indicator of their general attitude towards All Things Pandemic-related. Cumming was one of the most vocal opponents of the Victorian lockdowns and curfews, supporting calls for Victorians to “protest” curfews by making loud noises at night. She claimed that Victorians were a separated society, and expressed her feelings about the Emergency Powers Legislation Amendment Bill by walking into Parliament and giving Fiona Patten (Reason Party MP and supporter of the Bill) the finger. She’s been chummy with some of the leaders of the anti-vax/lockdown/mandate movement, including our old friends Reignite Democracy Australia, going so far as to speak repeatedly with protesters camped on Parliament steps last year during the debate over the Bill. You remember them, the nice people who brought along a gallows and hanged Dan Andrews in effigy?

Cumming hasn’t changed her tune since those days. In fact, she’s now making explicit threats. Just today on the steps of Flinders St Station at a so-called “freedom rally”, she announced that her reason for running for election as part of AVP was to see Dan Andrews disappear “in a red mist”, making it clear that she was referencing the “pink mist” trope popularised in video games, which refers to a person’s head literally exploding into mist when they are shot. She followed up with the assertion that she could “give anyone in the army to blow someone up, and they will”. Victoria Police are investigating Cumming’s comment.

Cumming’s bio says she stands for Honesty, Integrity, and Accountability – yet she consistently misrepresented the legislation both in Parliament and in public, and when called on it, claimed she’d done no such thing. Not a great look for the only incumbent in a party that says it’s all about holding politicians to account.

Oh, and Cumming is also a “doctor” of traditional Chinese medicine – which may go some way to explain AV’s only policy not directed at the Andrews government. AV want to decriminalise natural substances – specifically cannabis and psilocybin – for mental health treatment, and to legislate broad access to alternative and natural mental health treatments. I mean, it’s not self-serving at all, is it?

So there we are. The Australian Values Party, oh sorry, I meant the Angry Victorians Party in a nutshell. Sadly, their policies can fit into a nutshell, too, and most of them aren’t even policies at all. Just complaints.

Just a reminder that Loki and I lack the necessary Eurovision knowledge to choose the songs that Catherine liked to include, but we’d love to see what you suggest in the comments below 🙂