One year in, Andrews is determined to deliver for Victoria, minus the bluster   

Date
    November 28, 2015 
    The Age

Daniel Andrews says his government is "setting a cracking pace".

If Daniel Andrews learnt anything from the Abbott, Napthine and Baillieu governments, it is that voters want results, not navel gazing; they want a mature discussion, not ideology. Above all, they want competence, not chaos.

One year in, Andrews is on a mission to deliver. In an interview marking 12 months since his historic election win, the premier is "on message" almost to the point of frustration.

"We've really wasted no time at all," he tells The Age. "We got stuck right in from the first day and I think we've got a fair bit to show in terms of progress ... Just get on with outcomes, that's what matters … So we are setting a cracking pace there."   

You get the drift. There will be no dilly-dallying. The premier wants to build stuff, pass laws and boost services – without the dross.

The interview takes place in the state's west, on the road between Massey and the Teddywaddy CFA station. The premier is half way into a three-day tour of regional Victoria, visiting communities stricken by a devastating drought.

It isn't exactly Labor heartland, but the premier seems in good form, engaged, if not a little tired looking.

Asked about highlights of the past year, he insists he is all about the future so he will not be reeling off a shopping list of achievements. Then for the next 10 minutes or so he reels off the aforementioned list.

And fair enough too. Whether you agree with Labor's agenda or not, the government cannot be accused of sitting on its hands for 52 weeks.

As Andrews points out, there are now 19 planned level crossings upgrades that are either underway or "out to market, with the target of 20 this term likely to be exceeded".   

Planning work on the Melbourne Metro project is well underway, with a business case to be handed to the Commonwealth early next year. New trains and trams are being ordered. Detailed plans for a new tollway connecting the Westgate Freeway to CityLink will be unveiled within weeks.

The Parliament has been kept busy with legislation to allow gay couples to adopt and to create exclusion zones keeping protesters away from abortion clinics. A royal commission into family violence is well underway, with a final report due in February next year.

Victoria's tough baseline sentencing laws, criticised by Victoria's highest court as unworkable, are being reviewed. Extra money has been set aside to tackle the scourge of terrorism. Among other things.

Andrews is easily ahead in the polls, although as his Liberal detractors point out so too was Ted Baillieu at this early point in the political cycle. He is off to a solid start, despite some problems, including bullying allegation against former small business minister Adem Somyurek, several disruptive industrial disputes and festering factional tensions.

The great challenge for Labor over the next couple of years will be dealing with what economists call "exogenous" factors that may hamper Andrews on his mission, not least among them headwinds facing the state economy.

Andrews says he recognises that Labor isn't perfect, but he refuses to get distracted. Once again, talking about delivering results without the bluster of recent years.

"No one elected us to be focused on ourselves, no one elected us to be consumed by a lot of these beltway issues," he says. "You've got to deal with issues on their merits, you've got to deal with them properly, but you've also got to understand … we are there for the people of the state who have elected us, given us a job to do.