Constructing a crisis: how Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews made meaning of COVID-19

ABSTRACT

The state of Victoria, Australia experienced some of the longest and strictest COVID-19 lockdowns in the world, and among the highest peaks of COVID-19 cases in the country. Despite this, the Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has retained his leadership position, as well as public support in the polls and high compliance with COVID-19 restrictions which resulted in Victoria eliminating two waves of the virus over 2020. This article investigates how Andrews supported his government's policy response to COVID-19 by attempting to construct the reality of crisis in the public consciousness. Through a thematic analysis of Andrews’ press conferences, media releases, and social media posts, it is found that a campaign of language, imagery, metaphor and narrative framed the pandemic as a crisis that was urgent, but nonetheless familiar and manageable.

澳大利亚的维多利亚州经历了全世界最长时、最严格的新冠封控。即便如此，州长丹尼尔·安德鲁斯还是保住了州领导的地位，并得到民调的支持以及民众对疫情封控的配合，结果是2020年两波新冠病毒均被清零。本文考察了安德鲁斯如何通过在公共意识中构建危机的现实来助力其政府的新冠疫情对策。通过对安德鲁斯新闻发布会、媒体发布以及社交媒体公告的主题分析，笔者发现语言、形象、隐喻、叙事等等将疫情构建成为一种不陌生、可控制的燃眉之急。

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• crisis leadership
• Daniel Andrews
• meaning-making

Acknowledgements

This article has been modified from part of my Honours thesis submitted to Monash University in November 2021, under the supervision of Paul Strangio. My thanks go to Paul for all his advice and assistance in the writing of my original thesis. Further thanks go to Jack Corbett for his comments on a draft of this article. I received no funding for the research or writing of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 A view count of 921,040 was recorded for a 6 September 2020 press conference streamed on 7News Melbourne Facebook page. This number includes views after the streaming date, up until 12 October 2023. 7NEWS Melbourne, ‘Coronavirus: Announcement from Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews,’ Facebook, 6 September 2020, https://www.facebook.com/7NEWSMelbourne/videos/635065577152232/.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Laura Woodbridge

Laura Woodbridge is a Research Officer at Monash University and Australian Catholic University. She completed her Honours thesis, titled “Constructing a Crisis: An Exploration of Premier Daniel Andrews' Framing of COVID-19”, at Monash University in 2021. Her research focuses on public policy, political leadership, and crisis response.