Victorian Premier Ben Carroll speaks to the media at Victorian Parliament House in Melbourne, Australia, on July 28, 2026. Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images
A taxpayer-funded statue of former Premier Daniel Andrews has been scrapped, with Victoria’s new leader saying the project did not align with community expectations.
Andrews was set to be immortalised in bronze at a cost of $134,000 (US$96,000) under rules introduced by former Liberal premier Jeff Kennett in recognition of having served more than 3,000 days in office.
Premier Ben Carroll moved to stop work on the controversial statue on Aug. 29, announcing the government would no longer automatically commission monuments.
He said the decades-old policy no longer met community standards regarding government spending.
“I respect your money. That means being careful and deliberate about how government spends it,” Carroll said in a statement.
“We are grateful to former premiers for their service. But gratitude does not require a taxpayer-funded statue.”
Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson has previously committed to abandoning the statue if the Coalition wins government at the November state election.
Recent polling also indicated Victorians were opposed to the statue.
Almost three-quarters of Victorians (74 percent) did not want the plans to proceed, while 19 percent favoured the project going ahead at taxpayers’ expense, according to a Freshwater Strategy poll published by the Herald Sun on Aug. 6.
More than two-thirds (68 percent) opposed the monument altogether and about 15 percent said they supported it.
Andrews, who resigned in September 2024 and was replaced by his deputy Jacinta Allan, garnered unwavering loyalty from some and derision from others during his nine years in the top job.
He won three consecutive state elections and came to national prominence when he oversaw one of the world’s longest COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
Most recently, he was the subject of a long-awaited probe into allegations of corruption concerning his government’s dealings with the Victorian firefighters’ union.
The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission’s Operation Richmond report stopped short of making findings of corrupt behaviour by Andrews and other officials.
However, it found Andrews and senior members of his government engaged in “serious and concerning conduct.”
On Saturday, the Carroll government moved to announce a review into the way the state honoured prominent Victorians through state funerals and memorial services.
The independent panel will recommend clear protocols about scale and costs for such services.
By Allanah Sciberras in Melbourne
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