The poll found around 62% of Victorians were satisfied with Dan’s management of the crisis – and 61% of Australians thought the measures he had put in place were “appropriate.”
That might be because they are glad we Victorians can’t cross the border, but there you go.
Now, I have had my differences with the Premier, very serious ones. I was outraged, you will remember, at his firing of the former Corrections Minister, Steve Herbert, just for having his two dogs, Patch and Ted, chauffeured from parliament up to his weekender at Trentham in a government car. It's the sort of thing a considerate dog owner would do if he could.
I campaigned on Steve’s behalf at the time but to no avail: he retired later that year - whereupon Patch and Ted were suddenly denied the level of transport to which they had become accustomed.
So it didn’t surprise me to learn that the Premier and his family prefer cats. You might remember their cat, Smoky, went missing at some point but was found in dishevelled condition in a nearby suburb. Thanks to the microchip, Smoky managed to get back home.
At least he has a pet, I suppose, which is more than what The Donald has. You have to be suspicious of anyone in charge of a country who doesn’t have a big enough heart to care for a pet.
Well, Dan went on to redeem himself when his government passed a law preventing landlords from banning tenants with pets. This was a dog-friendly law, to my mind.
And then they got a lot tougher on “puppy farms” which worked their mums too hard producing litter after litter in unsavoury conditions – and without the human socialising that produces a well-balanced, intelligent, capable, engaging and generally loveable hound like myself.
So look, I have forgiven him, despite the cat. It’s a question mark rather than a black mark.
But back to the Newspoll, which is run by the Murdoch papers – the same papers, according to The Boss, which have been giving the Premier a daily towelling for around five months.
The Boss reckons The Herald Sun and The Australian have drifted so far to the right they have forgotten what the middle looks like so he was chuckling away to himself when he found the Newspoll on the front page of The Australian.
“They didn’t have much choice, General,” he said winking at me. “They make such a fuss of their Newspoll it would be too embarrassing to bury this one on page four. Even for them.”
“But you can be sure they didn’t enjoy it.”
The Boss reckons the Financial Review has been almost as bad, though, and that is owned by the other mob at Channel Nine.
“It’s the Sydney push at work,” he said. “Any excuse to give Victoria a belting.”
He thinks New South Wales got out of gaol on the Ruby Princess because it was mainly wealthy people coming back from a cruise and they all went obediently home, where they could afford to isolate in comfort.
“That’s the way it started out in Victoria, too – wealthy people coming back from ski trips and travelling overseas.”
“When the virus escaped through the security guards into poorer communities where people rely on family groups for support and have to work several part-time jobs to make end meet, it took off.”
The Boss agrees with those who say it was just bad luck.
“Hindsight is a wonderful thing, General – closely followed by the instinct to blame somebody else,” he said, looking at me meaningfully.
Not that I would ever do something like that. Woof!
