🚨 UPDATE: Parliament Debates Andrews Statue Petition 27/08/2025

The Parliamentary debate on the petition to cancel a taxpayer-funded statue of former Premier Daniel Andrews—backed by over 12,400 official signatures and nearly 23,000 more on Change.org—was held on 27 August. Despite strong arguments highlighting Andrews’ divisive legacy, the motion was defeated 13 votes to 8. The debate, however, forced the Allan Government onto the defensive, exposing growing public anger and doubts over the cost, location, and merit of the statue.

🚨 We're going to Parliament! 🏛️. Victoria's Parliamentary petition is sponsored by Victorian upper house MP, Moira Deeming. Moira will debate the petition in parliament on August 27th this year. She's on our side!

First, thanks for signing and sharing this petition. This is our ONE chance to stop the Dan Andrews statue. And let’s be clear — if it goes up, Labor could potentially hide it away behind locked gates, guarded and out of public view. They know a Dan Andrews statue wouldn’t survive five minutes in the real world.

Petition Overview: We call on the Victorian Labor Government and Premier Jacinta Allan to immediately cancel the planned statue of former Premier Daniel Andrews. The statue, tipped to cost over $100,000 of taxpayer money, is an insult to the many Victorians still grappling with the consequences of his leadership.

Why I created the Petition: The proposal to honour Daniel Andrews with a bronze statue statue tipped to cost Victorians over $100,000 )now rumoured to be in excess of $250,000) is a deeply troubling decision. As the former Premier of Victoria, Andrews left behind a legacy marred by scandal, authoritarian policies, a broken health public system and human rights abuses.

Many Victorians continue to suffer from the impacts of his decisions. The idea of immortalising a politician so divisive in the state’s history is an affront to the people who endured hardship under his government.

This petition opposes the statue on the grounds of:

Public Outrage and Distrust: Andrews’ leadership saw some of the most restrictive lockdowns globally, leading to widespread economic and social devastation. The policies of his government contributed to almost 800 deaths, countless job losses, business closures and severe impacts on mental health, with many young people still in recovery.

Wasted Our Hard-Earned-Money: The former premier is the responsible person for record-breaking state debt, massive budget blowouts, a deteriorating public health system, teacher and police shortage, and the internationally embarrassing cancellation of the Commonwealth Games

The Bike Boy Scandal: Daniel Andrews remains embroiled in the "Bike Boy Scandal," a 2014 car crash involving allegations of a cover-up, false statements to police, evidence tampering, and wrongly blaming the 14-year-old victim. It has since emerged that Andrews delayed calling 000 for nearly seven minutes, despite the boy lying injured and screaming in pain at his and Catherine Andrews’ feet. 

Fiscal Responsibility and Sensitivity: With Victorians struggling due to a cost-of-living crisis, it is unconscionable to spend taxpayer dollars on a statue honouring one of the most divisive figures in recent memory.

Calling Victorians to Action: Premier Jacinta Allan appears to be tone-deaf. If she had integrity, she would cancel this planned $100K+ statue. Victorians, regardless of politics, must demand its cancellation.

Please sign and share the petition and share it widely. Thank you.