‘Are we right to go?’

This short statement sums up much of Dan Andrews’ communications skills. A line that signalled the start of yet another COVID-era press conference.

As people in the communications game, it is worth reflecting on Dan Andrews as a professional, political communicator.

The first point to make is that he threw out most of the old rule book on how to manage political messaging. He was effectively the first post-mainstream media Premier. He simply didn’t bother trying to chase the approval of the NewsCorp stable nor the highest-rating talkback radio stations. He set up a direct-to-voter approach via an incredibly successful social media presence managed by a large, professional team. His more than 443,000 X/Twitter followers and more than a million Facebook followers dwarf other politicians.

And where he did use the mainstream media, he was able to have his COVID media conferences streamed live by multiple media platforms; effectively cutting out the role of the media as an editor. He was able to de-mystify the process that delivers our nightly news. He was not the only First Minister to do that but he was the only one to keep going until the journalists had no more questions to ask; day after day.

Secondly, he was a master of the one liner; of the cut-through phrase delivered either in Parliament or via media conferences. Think of ‘Hope always defeats hate’ or ‘Get on the beers’. Whereas some other politicians have been accused of governing by three-word slogans, Andrews’ slogans seemed to better resonate with the public and were consistent with the values of the government he led. ‘Doing what matters’, the slogan for the successful third election victory in 2022 (and the last Budget) did capture the mood of enough of the electorate in the first post-COVID election. Likewise, ‘Putting patients first’ was an appropriate slogan for the 2022-23 Budget.

Finally, Andrews knew that to deliver the messages consistently he had to centralise and control the flow of information. Much has been written about the role of the Premier’s Private Office – for good or ill – but he has transformed the way the PPO oversees messaging to the community. Ministers or agencies who go off script sound like a ‘noisy gong or a clanging cymbal’ in contrast to the always controlled and consistent tone and information from the Premier.

The Premier’s legacy will inevitably be a mixed bag where most people have a strong view either way about his style and the outcomes of his dominant leadership. But it is inarguable that his communication skills and approach will be studied for years to come. Having gone out undefeated and on his own terms, his ability to speak clearly to the voters will always be a key part of his political obituary.