Planned statue of ex-Victorian premier Daniel Andrews scrapped
Victorian premier Ben Carroll has cancelled plans to immortalise his predecessor Dan Andrews in statue form outside Melbourne's Treasury Place.
The planned bronze statue commemorating former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has been cancelled by his successor, Ben Carroll. The tradition of recognizing state leaders with statues began in 1999 during the Jeff Kennett government. However, Mr. Carroll has commissioned an independent and bipartisan panel to review how Victoria commemorates former leaders, effectively scrapping the statue project for Andrews, who served as premier from 2014 to 2023.
The decision comes as Victoria prepares for a state election scheduled for November 28. Andrews' statue was one of four commissioned in the late 1990s in Melbourne's Treasury Place, recognizing premiers who served more than 3,000 days in office. The canceled statue project has been a subject of political debate since Andrews reached the milestone in 2020.
His successor, Ben Carroll, emphasized the importance of fiscal responsibility and stated that taxpayers' money should not be spent on non-essential items like statues. The existing Andrews statue contract will not be cancelled, but the panel will recommend an alternative subject and location for the commissioned work.
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