While the Premier is laid low, how will Victoria be governed? Weâre sorry, this service is currently unavailable. Please try again later. Dismiss Save Normal text size Advertisement The last time a state had an acting premier during a pandemic, things didnât turn out so well. In January 1919, West Australian Premier Henry Lefroy was in Melbourne for a conference of state leaders, leaving Hal Colebatch in Perth and in charge. Henry Lefroy, former premier of Western Australia, was locked out of his state by his own acting premier at the height of the 1919 pandemic. When the Spanish Flu broke out in Melbourne, Colebatch responded in what has become customary WA fashion, stopping an intercontinental train in its tracks and blocking anyone from crossing the state border from over east - including Lefroy.