Victoria scraps Daniel Andrews statue plan, reviews premier memorial policy
The Victorian government has cancelled plans for a statue of former premier Daniel Andrews, a project that had drawn criticism over its $134,000 cost and became a point of political contention ahead of the state election.
Premier Ben Carroll announced on Saturday that the policy under which the statue was being created would be repealed, directing work on the Andrews statue to cease. The policy, introduced in 1999 by then-premier Jeff Kennett, automatically recognised premiers who served more than 3,000 days in office with a statue along Treasury Place in Melbourne.
Andrews, who served as Victoria's premier from 2014 to 2023, crossed that threshold, and work on his statue began in May. The contract for the statue will not be cancelled, according to Carroll, who said an independent, bipartisan panel would instead recommend an alternative subject and location for the commissioned work.
In a statement, Carroll said taxpayers want public money used in a careful and deliberate manner and that automatically granting long-serving premiers a statue did not meet that standard.
"We are grateful to former premiers for their service," he said. "But gratitude does not require a taxpayer-funded statue."
Carroll also said the panel would make recommendations about the appropriate frequency, scale and costs of state funerals, a move he framed as part of a broader effort to ensure such tributes remain special.
"State funerals are special and moving tributes. Part of what makes them special is their rarity," he said.
The decision follows criticism from the Liberal opposition, which had pledged to block the statue if it won government at the November state election. Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said on 30 July: "If we come to government we will not allow that statue to proceed." She wrote in a social media post that Victorians were "fed up with Labor's waste" and called for a government that treats taxpayer money with respect.
The statue policy has been in place since the late 1990s, when Kennett commissioned a series of bronze statues for Treasury Place. Four former premiers — Albert Dunstan, Henry Bolte, Rupert Hamer and John Cain Jr — each served more than 3,000 days and have been memorialised with statues near 1 Treasury Place.
Kennett told 3AW this month that the statue policy "was not a rule, it was not legislation, it was a guideline."
The panel's work will extend beyond the Andrews statue. Carroll said it would review how Victoria commemorates officials with statues and state services, ensuring decisions are made with taxpayer expectations in mind.
Carroll, who took over as premier last month after being elected state Labor leader in July, did not mention Andrews by name in his statement, referring to him only as Victoria's 48th premier.