Liberal MP Craig Kelly has called for the removal of Dan Andrews after describing the Victorian Premier’s lockdown measures as “brutal and draconian.”

The federal member for Hughes suggested the Andrews Government was maintaining the harsh restrictions in an effort to ‘save face’ and avoid having to admit to mishandling the situation.

“It’s up to the Labor members of Parliament to remove the Premier,” Kelly said on Sunday in a video for news website CAVE.

Kelly went on to urge all Victorians to write to their local members of Parliament and “implore” them to take action, noting not only the damage being done to the state, but also the fact that “Dan Andrews is not looking at the facts, is not looking at the evidence, is in denial of the science, and is ignoring the opinions of over 500 doctors.”

The problem is, according to Kelly, removing Andrews and reversing the strict lockdown measures would require the government to admit they were wrong.

“We can’t allow someone’s pride or loss of face to overweigh the importance of the destruction of our economy and the destruction of the lives from the brutal lockdown.

“Victorians, contact your Labor member of Parliament,” Kelly went on to say. “Call on them to vote against Daniel Andrews in a leadership spill.

“It’s up to the Labor Party of Victoria. Surely there are good members there that are left in Victoria that can speak up, that can see the damage that is being done. That can see how wrong these policies are. That can see how detrimental they are, not only to Victoria but to the entire nation.

“They need to get rid of the Premier and replace him with someone with a fresh perspective,” Kelly added.

A petition set up calling on the Governor of Victoria to “dissolve the Victorian Parliament” has so far gathered 43,000 signatures.

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