Disgraced Labor minister turns on Daniel Andrews and accuses him of being responsible for the 'biggest policy disaster in Australian history'
A former Victorian minister has accused Premier Daniel Andrews of the 'biggest public policy disaster in Australian history' over the handling of his state's coronavirus outbreak in a scathing opinion piece.
Adem Somyurek was sacked as minister for local government and small business by Mr Andrews in June following a 60 Minutes expose on his alleged Labor branch stacking. Mr Somyurek later resigned from the party.
The Turkish-born politician has since launched an attack on the Victorian premier, writing the 'buck stops with him' in an opinion piece published in The Herald Sun.
Mr Somyurek said he shares responsibility for the deaths of more than 780 Victorians because he was working as a minister when the Victorian government decided to use private security guards in hotel quarantine.
Adem Somyurek was sacked in June as the minister for local government and small business, following a 60 Minutes expose on his alleged Labor branch stacking.
'Not because I was part of a collective cabinet decision-making process, but because I failed to insist the premier comply with a proper cabinet process,' he wrote.
Victoria's deadly second wave of coronavirus infections can be traced back to outbreaks at two Melbourne hotels used in the quarantine program.
The embattled program was subject to an inquiry before retired judge Jennifer Coate, who will hand down a report on November 6.
Mr Somyurek claimed the 'decision-making processes of the executive and the potential intermediary role played by their staff' was not in evidence before the inquiry.
'As the only former minister not constrained by party discipline, it is in the public interest that I attempt to shed light on how we got into such a mess, with so much pain and destruction for so many Victorians,' he wrote.
The former minister claimed Mr Andrews had been 'lucky' until the bungled hotel quarantine program came to light.
The Turkish-born politician has since launched an attack on the Victorian premier , writing the 'buck stops with him' in an opinion piece published in The Herald Sun
Mr Somyurek wrote that the premier decreed the use of private security guards for the program, 'without any cabinet decision at all'.
He said quarantine is a federal matter and Mr Andrews did not appear to allocate the portfolio responsibility to another minister, which means 'the ministerial responsibility buck stops with him'.
Mr Somyurek said the premier had been mentored by Legislative Council, Gavin Jennings - who retired from Parliament in mid-March.
Without the 'calming guidance' of Mr Jennings, Mr Somyurek said 'the result is the biggest public policy disaster in Australian history'.
A man and a woman in face masks hold hands as they walk in front of Flinders Street Station in Melbourne on September 20
The former minister concluded by writing the premier's government is 'centralised and micromanaged', adding that 'talented ministers lack autonomy'.
Mr Somyurek previously wrote another opinion piece for The Australian, where he slammed Melbourne's lockdown curfew.
Mr Somyurek said Mr Andrews, who hails from Labor's Socialist Left faction, had little regard for the economic cost of his Stage Four lockdowns.
'The loss of civil rights and economic damage are just collateral damage,' he said.
'The government has encroached on our lives in ways unimaginable only a few months ago.'
On Thursday, Victoria recorded 15 new cases of coronavirus and two more fatalities, bringing the state's death toll to 800 and the national figure to 888.