Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews Unmasked: The Man The Monster, A Sense of Place Magazine, 23 September, 2022.
There is no doubt that Geoff Shaw regards the Premier of Australia's second most populist state as a monster.
But before we get into the excerpts, let's skip straight to the end of the horror story.
Alex Berenson, former New York Times reporter and author of Pandemia: How Coronavirus Hysteria Took Over Our Government, Rights, and Lives, records the outcome of the authoritarian lunacy which overtook Victoria beginning in 2020 with a story earlier this month headlined "Deaths are soaring in one of the world's most highly mRNA vaccinated areas".
Deaths in the Australian state of Victoria, where 95 percent of adults have received Covid vaccines and most are boosted with mRNA shots, soared to their highest level in at least 13 years in August - far above the five-year average.
Victoria offers almost unique data: near-real-time reporting on death trends in millions of people who are heavily vaccinated but had little exposure to Covid before being jabbed.
The picture is increasingly grim.
Victoria registered 4,896 deaths from all causes in August, 27 percent above the monthly average of the previous five Augusts. Mortality in Australia typically peaks June through August, the Southern Hemisphere’s winter, but the figure is only the latest in a disturbing trend.
So far in 2022, Victoria has registered 32,533 deaths, 20 percent above its average for the same eight-month period from 2017 through 2021. Victoria has had more than 4000 deaths in five months since February; it crossed that threshold only in seven months in the previous 12 years.
In general, deaths in Victoria have typically fallen in a very narrow band. In each year from 2017 to 2021, the state reported between 26,350 and 27,800 deaths for the eight months from January to August.
Not anymore.
Much of this year’s increase is due to Covid-related deaths. Like the rest of Australia, Victoria has faced a wave of Covid infections and deaths in 2022, even though 70 percent of its adults and nearly 90 percent of people over 60 are not just vaccinated but boosted.
More than two-thirds of Victoria’s Covid deaths have occurred in 2022 - the equivalent of about 200,000 deaths in the United States - even though Omicron is viewed as significantly milder than earlier variants.
At the same time, deaths from other causes are up substantially too, and rising caseloads from both Covid and other illnesses have put heavy pressure on the state’s hospital system. Wait times for non-urgent surgeries are now more than six months at many hospitals, compared to three or four last year.
Victoria is Australia’s second-most-populated state, with about 7 million people, mostly living in and around the city of Melbourne. Like all of Australia, it had very rigid lockdowns; in September 2020, police infamously arrested (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54007824) a pregnant woman for “inciting” an anti-lockdown protest.
It reports monthly all-cause deaths numbers about five days after the end of the month, more quickly than almost any other state or nation.
The database is robust even though the figures are very recent. State law in Victoria requires physicians and funeral directors to report deaths online. They are registered immediately and the figures rarely if ever change after the initial reported figure.
Victoria’s current Website (https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/research-and-family-history/research-and-data-services/death-statistics/deaths-registered-per-month) only lists monthly death figures since September 2019, but the Wayback Machine includes an archived version (https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/research-and-family-history/research-and-data-services/death-statistics/deaths-registered-per-month) from early August 2020 that includes figures for every month back to January 2010.
Later in August 2020, for reasons that are not clear, the state removed all data from before mid-2019.
So much for keeping Victorians safe!!!!!!!!!! As Kim Jong-un look-alike Daniel Andrews repeatedly told Victorians.
The sight of Andrews smirking up newly elected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during the so-called National Cabinet sent a chill through every freedom loving Australians heart. And so it should. The two, from the same side of politics, are said to be particularly close. The manipulation and concealment of figures suggests knowledge and culpability.
Here are exerts from Geoff Shaw's book Unmasked. it is not an academic treatise. What the book lacks in professional finesse it makes up for in sheer gusto.
Introduction
Victoria has been under a dark shadow of lockdown restrictions since Covid was introduced to the world in late 2019.
One that was compounded by the Victorian Parliament Upper House’s passage of the Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill by a razor-thin margin of 20 votes to 18 on
2 December, 2021, following weeks of vehement discussion and public outrage, creating mass public demonstrations and nightly vigils that began under Premier Dan Michael Andrews.
Hundreds of thousands of Victorians opposed to lock- downs and mandatory vaccinations rallied and occupied the steps of the state parliament for weeks in protest of the legislation. Protesters denounced the planned measure as “dangerous legislation” that gave Premier Dan Andrews unprecedented powers not seen in anyone’s lifetime in Australia.
Many Victorians - who had endured six world record lockdowns, and had spent more time than anybody else on the planet living under stay-at-home orders - 263 days - were opposed to the overreaching, tyrannical, legislation. This is the law that has been dubbed the worst of its kind in the entire world.
This is how one man took the world’s most livable city and turned it into the world’s most locked-down city.
***
Decisive Dan
Dan’s crowning acts of decisiveness came in March 2020, when he evoked the longest, and possibly harshest, lockdowns in the world.
It was one that was inflicted on the approximately 6.7 million people living under his rule…
One that killed off many small businesses, hopes, and jobs.
One that took two years out of children’s learning at school.
One that shut down freedom of movement, getting married and seeing family.
One that suppressed freedom of speech. Any sign of dissent or protests was dealt with harshly.
One that he said was to stop this new killer virus, Covid-19/Corona, in 14 days if we kept to ourselves,
isolated, and listened to Dan’s directives, which were always using “the most up-to-date expert medical
advice.”
One that spread out over two years, six lockdowns for 263 days, making it a world record for the number of lockdowns and number of days in lockdown compared to anywhere on the planet.
***
Descent Into Madness
Moving right along - and we are not yet in mandated Lockdown #1 - Dan releases “on-the-spot fines to keep Victorians safe” on 28 March 2020.
Dan grants police the authority to impose penalties of up to $1,652 on individual citizens and up to $9,913 on corpora tions for failing to abide by the rules.
Seriously, how does someone come up with these numbers?
Probably some deemed ‘essential’ public servants, paid too much and with too much time on their hands.
If any Victorian was to organise or attend a wedding that had present more than the two persons being married, the celebrant and two witnesses, or a funeral that had more than 10 persons, you were breaking Dan’s law and subject to fines.
If you organised a house auction, you were also defying Dan’s orders.
Hospitals also were directed to wind back all non-urgent surgery to make way for the supposed influx of Covid patients. People I know had their already booked hip replacement put back another year because of these orders.
Non-urgent public dental services were also made “unavailable”.
The above was just an introduction to what Despot Dan had in store. Before it was just a heavy suggestion to stay home. Now we move to compulsory home incarceration for all “non-essential” Victorians.
On 30 March 2020, the first of six lockdowns were announced at roughly 10 am.
At 11:59 that night, the stay-at-home directives went into force. Plenty of time for small businesses to organise their staff, supplies, produce, deliveries, and day-to-day running of their lives!
The benefits of having the Supreme Leader with no busi ness background. Dan does not understand, has no IQ, no empathy for running businesses. He has been in the public purse most of his life.
The declaration imposed stringent new limitations on social events and mandated that, when it is possible to stay at home, citizens must do so.
Here is Dan’s heartened sermon to people about to embark on the first lockdown: “My message to every Victorian is that there are only four reasons to leave your home: food and supplies, medical care, exercise, and work or education.
“We are also restricting gatherings to no more than two people except for members of your immediate household and for work or education.
“We will not be breaking up household family dinners (did Dan really say that? Yep!) but BBQs with the neighbours cannot happen anymore.
“Playgrounds, skate parks and outdoor gyms will also close. If people breach these directions, they face on-the-spot fines of $1,652 for individuals and $9,913 for businesses. Larger fines can also be issued through the courts.
“As we deal with this health crisis, we know that for many Victorians it’s an economic crisis as well. With many businesses losing their customers, and Victorians losing their jobs, paying rent is becoming impossible for some people.
“The events we are living through are unprecedented and are going to mean big changes for everyone, from our littlest Victorians to our most senior citizens.
“Life is going to look very different for a while but if we don’t make these changes now, the virus will continue to spread, and our health system will be overwhelmed.
“To flatten the curve, we are all going to have to sacrifice a lot. But it may be the most important thing we ever do (No, getting out of our lives would be Dan).
“So please: Stay home. Protect our health system. Save lives.”
***
Deeply Divisive
In December 2021, Dan was granted just what he wanted—permanent legislative changes so the power all goes to him, and his Health Minister, to declare a pandemic and “make any order…that the minister believes is reasonably necessary to protect public health”. Including shooting people and pepper-spraying them, I assume, if the past has anything to do with it.7
Fines under these new powers can be up to $454,000!! All this fear. All this distrust. All of Dan’s negative, talking down to the peasant, approach. All the lies, misinformation, and lockdowns. People were fed up.
Protests sprung up weekly in Melbourne and other areas second half of 2021 with tens of thousands, and sometimes hundreds of thousands of people rallying, venting their opposition to Dan’s newly given powers.
To add more concerns and worries to Victorians, Dan triggered a “no jab, no job” mandate stating that workers will have to have had their first jab by 15 October 2021 and the second by 26 November 2021.
Not that he promoted is a mandate but “if you choose not to be vaccinated you can’t work”. Hardly a choice. He had already enforced a “no jab, no play” rule in 2016 for kids before they enrolled in childcare or kinder. The Liberal federal government also had a ‘No Jab, No Pay” holding back payments to parents who did not have their kids vaccinated. On Facebook dated 22 October 2015, Dan writes; “No jab, no play, and no apologies from me.”
“If your child isn’t vaccinated, you aren’t just putting them at risk. You’re putting every other child in the playground at risk.
“We won’t stand for it in Victoria. Your health matters more than your opinions. Facts are facts. The science is clear. Vaccinations save lives.”
***
Despiser
Victorians have spent much of 2020 and 2021 spiritually battered under rules which have treated their religious practices as non-essential at best and criminal at worst. Enter Paul Furlong. business executive, pastor, singer and songwriter.
“I’ve been arrested three times but twice arrested for opening my church in Narre Warren, Victoria. The second time opening church I was thrown into jail for 17 days”.
That was on a Saturday night at around midnight at the back of his church.
Under Dan’s lockdowns, churches could not be open. Everyone was to stay locked up in their homes unless they had to get food or were an ‘essential worker’. For an hour per day, you could exercise outside. You were forced to wear facemasks. You could not go to funerals, weddings, or your dying parent’s bedside. Your kids couldn’t attend school.
Paul, an owner of Lots of Fins Aquarium, next to his church, also operates the charity Revive the Kids, in which he uses the profits from his aquarium shop to fund this extraordinary charity he started in 2010.
For over 14 years Paul has conducted about 3,000 crusades around the world seeing over 250,000 become Christians, peo ple healed and many other miracles. He is now focused on building a local church, fulfilling a desire he has had for much of his life.
In his prison diaries Paul writes that there is a commandment clearly in the Bible that declares “Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more than you see the Day approaching. I wanted men and women to pray and worship—that’s my job as a pastor.”
So, Paul obeyed God over these questionable directives from Dan.
Paul’s Aquarium business and the church had 36 separate visits by police. Most for supposedly breaking the Chief Health Officer (CHO) directives, such as not wearing face masks.
Paul states that on three occasions there were three to five police cars outside the cafe to harass and fine Paul, plus the other 33 times! These police harassments lasted 2-3 hours.
On one occasion, Paul said, police contacted Worksafe to instruct them to go to Paul’s business and destroy him. Shut him down!!!
February 2021 was the first time Paul was arrested.
66
DESPISER
face mask during Dan’s decrees made up on the run, as well as not giving his details to police.
Oh, and by the way, there has never been a case of Covid from Paul’s business or church from this time.
The second time was for the unforgivable crime of opening a church and defying CHO directives.
The Department of Human Services (a bureaucratic pub lic service) was also instructed to raid the aquarium business but made the remarkable statement that the aquarium was “Covid Safe”.
That’s great but Paul was told he must sign a “Covid Safety Plan” (what the heck for?) which Paul refused.
Those bungling bureaucrats came the next day to close him down and give him a $30,000 fine!
Death to small business by paperwork and stupidity. Way to go, Dan!
In May 2021, Paul was arrested a third time, again, for the heinous crime of opening a church. Paul was denied bail and handed 17 days in jail.
In a remarkable display of deceit, the senior sergeant from the Dandenong police wanted to talk with Paul, so Paul invited him to have a coffee at the aquarium cafe. Paul was then arrested by 6 officers.
In Paul’s 17 days of incarceration for opening a church, 14 of those days were in solitary confinement, with three days in the general population.
He requested his Bible but was denied it for half that time. He requested to phone his wife of 34 years and was denied. Paul was treated as a hardcore enemy of the state—which I guess you are if you are a Christian, with convictions, and breaking directives in the Land of Dan.
Dan’s war on people of faith is clear in Victoria. His words and his actions show the disdain he has.
***
LOCKDOWN 6
5 August – 21 October 2021 (78 days)
7 people in hospital. 2 in ICU.
On 5 August 2021, weary Victorians were once again incarcerated by Dan.
All because there were 6 new cases the day before “suspected to be the highly infectious Delta variant”.
With only 80 active cases in the whole of Victoria with, only two in intensive care and on ventilators, Victoria was locked down from 8 pm that night. Supposedly for only 7 days……
The ever-caring spiel by the despot was the same: “From 8:00 pm tonight, there are only five reasons to leave home: getting the food and the supplies you need, exercising for up to two hours, care or care giving, authorised work or education if you can’t do it from home, or to get vaccinated at the nearest possible location.”
“Shopping and exercise must be done within 5 kilometres of your home or the nearest location.”
“Face masks will remain mandatory indoors (not at home) and outdoors unless an exception applies—this includes all workplaces and secondary schools.”
“Private gatherings are not permitted except for an intimate partner or nominated person visits. Public gatherings are not permitted. Exercise is limited to two people.”
Blah, blah, blah.
Schools closed, with primary and secondary school students returning to learning from home. Except for children of authorised workers (public servants and other ‘essential’ workers) who are allowed at school.
Expectantly, 7 days was never going to satisfy Dan. The world record for the most lockdowns was now his. He now needed to focus on the world record for the number of days in lockdown.
97lockdown.
So, Dan extends the lockdown because “the strategy is
working”.
Yet still, some people believed Dan.
In August Dan brought back the night-time curfew and
publically slammed people who broke his rules to go to the
beach and watch a sunset (it’s the middle of winter—hardly
anyone goes to the beach—and that beach is 100kms away
from Melbourne).
Dan also let loose on Jewish people breaking his commandments for having an engagement party barking: “They’ve done the wrong thing. It’s selfish. They are shitty choices, and they will keep us all locked down for longer than we should be. I am angry. We’re all angry.”
“There has been transmission at that event. The only question is whether it will be a super-spreader event.”
Due to people drinking near a takeaway bottle shop, Dan made it illegal to remove your face mask to drink alcohol in public. Yet you could if you got a takeaway coffee, water, or soft drink!
But it’s all about the “science” of keeping us “safe”.
You can purchase the book from the website Dan Andrews Unmasked.