The Victorian opposition has blasted Premier Daniel Andrews for drinking “$10,000 bottles of wine” with billionaires, as businesses in Victoria lost the same amount of revenue in a day during a snap lockdown last month.
During Question Time on Tuesday, Ripon MP Louise Staley interrogated Mr Andrews over his links to Australian businessman Lindsay Fox, the founder of logistics company Linfox.
The Agenewspaper reported Mr Andrews had visited Mr Fox’s Portsea mansion for dinner in January, accompanied by high-profile entrepreneurs and executives, and hosted by Lindsay’s son Andrew Fox, whose cellar wines “could fetch up to $10,000 a pop”.
The opposition is now calling on the Premier to declare any conflicts of interest and recuse himself from any cabinet deliberations on a quarantine facility at the Avalon Airport, owned by Linfox.
During Question Time, Ms Staley asked flatly how many helicopter flights or other gifts the Premier had received from the Fox family.
Mr Andrews said the only helicopters flights he had taken recently were to bushfire-affected areas.
“I meet with many people about many different issues,” Mr Andrews said.
“I behave appropriately at all times, that is the oath that I swore and if the conspiracy theorists opposite wants to make a claim or allegation, go ahead and do it.”
During the state’s snap lockdown last month, Melbourne cafe Hardware Society reportedly lost $10,000 in revenue in a day, according to Ms Staley.
“Why shouldn’t the public be outraged that (the Premier) is cracking $10,000 bottles of wine with the Fox family while businesses lose $10,000 a day?” she said.
Mr Andrews clapped back, saying it was inappropriate for the Opposition to bring up the issue on the same day the historic report into Victoria’s mental health system was published.
“We will not be lectured about the administration of good governance, we will not be lectured on these matters,” he said.
“All of us came together to receive a historic report, which was an obligation for us to do more and be better.”
