Daniel Andrews resigns as Premier of Victoria

Removalists have been spotted at Spring St as Daniel Andrews prepares to vacate his office after his shock resignation less than 24 hours ago.

A removalist truck has arrived at parliament on the final day of Daniel Andrews’ political career.

Ministers have also started to walk into parliament ahead of a Socialist Left factional meeting at 9.30am.

A wider Labor caucus meeting will be held at 12pm.

It’s unclear whether the Effortless Commercial Relocation Services truck is to begin emptying the outgoing Premier’s parliamentary office.

Mr Andrews will officially exit political life today, ending one of the most divisive reigns in Australian history.

A removalist truck has arrived at Spring St ahead of Daniel Andrews' departure from office.

It paves the way for Jacinta Allan to become Victoria’s 49th Premier who will inherit a state saddled with record debt and several corruption inquiries.

Mr Andrews announced his shock resignation at 1.30pm on Tuesday, less than half an hour after telling cabinet colleagues of the decision.

It followed months of ongoing speculation about the pending resignation and repeated commitments by Mr Andrews that he would contest the 2026 election.

Daniel Andrews arrives home in Mulgrave on Tuesday night after resigning as Premier. Picture: Ian Currie

But in a final press conference at Parliament House he said he had decided to quit in recent days despite being encouraged to stay in the top job.

“There’s an old saying in politics – go when they are asking you to stay,” he said.

“The moment you are thinking about what you are going to do next, you owe it to the people you love, you owe it to the people you serve, and frankly you owe it to yourself to make the difficult but important decision to move on.”

Mr Andrews will call time on his 3221-day reign as Premier from 5pm on Wednesday, leaving behind a legacy marred by high-profile controversies – none bigger than his state’s handling of the Covid crisis.

His list of misses will be bigger than his hits.

Mr Andrews making the announcement at a press conference. Picture: David Crosling

They include a debt disaster in which the money owed by the state is forecast to soar to a whopping $171bn by 2026-27, double the amount of NSW and the equivalent of almost $70,000 for every household.

His decision to cancel the 2026 Commonwealth Games also led to international outrage and will likely cost Victorians in excess of $380m.

But his tenure will mostly be remembered for his Covid-era rules, when the state had the longest lockdowns in the nation, including 267 days of hard lockdown.

Some cabinet ministers who gathered to watch the Premier’s announcement wiped away tears.

The Labor caucus will meet Wednesday to officially open nominations for party leader.

Mr Andrews leaves the press conference flanked by his wife Cath and his sons. Picture: David Crosling

Under party rules, nominations must remain open for three business days, meaning the state’s next leader may not be known until Tuesday, allowing for Friday’s grand final public holiday and the weekend.

Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan, a factional ally and preferred successor of Mr Andrews, announced she would formally nominate for the role.

“Congratulations Premier. An unparalleled legacy that has changed our state forever and for the better,” she said.

“Thank you for your leadership & your friendship.

“I will be putting myself forward to lead our party and continue the extraordinary work of our Labor government.”

Public Transport minister Ben Carroll, from the party’s Right faction, was seriously weighing up challenging for the top job. Multiple party sources said Mr Carroll would likely nominate but could fall in as a deputy premier in a new Allan government.

A significant cabinet reshuffle would be inevitable under any new leader. The future of Treasurer Tim Pallas was last night in doubt, with government sources split on whether he would also resign.

Sources close to Mr Pallas said he was keen to quit politics but had been encouraged to stay on as an experienced hand to deliver his 10th budget next May.

He would likely retire shortly after.

Mr Andrews was elected Premier in 2014, four years after becoming Labor leader.

He resigned during a visit to Government House on Tuesday afternoon.

His decision to step down comes amid multiple looming outstanding corruption probes, including a Victorian Ombudsman investigation into the ­politicisation of the state’s ­public service, which could be published as early as November.

Mr Andrews said while his future was uncertain, he dismissed speculation he would relocate overseas.

Daniel Andrews’ wife Cath was by his side during the announcement. Picture: David Crosling

He said the decision to quit and break his election pledge of serving a full term wasn’t an easy one because “there’s so much more to do”.

“I’ll go from every minute of every day being planned out for me and spending literally every waking moment thinking about the challenges our state faces,” he said.

“I am worse than a workaholic. I’ve spent every waking moment thinking about the work. There’s only so long that you can do that for.

“I’m going to have a bit of time off. I’m going to spend some times with Cath and the kids. I’m going to play a bit of golf. I’m going to read the pile of books that are sitting in the corner that haven’t been read. I’m going to do a few things that are about me.

“I’m looking forward to a very different pace and doing very different things.

“I don’t know what I’ll finish up doing.”

But Mr Andrews all but definitely closed the door on another role within the public sector.

“I think it’s highly unlikely that I’ll spend too much more time in the public sector after 5pm tomorrow,” he said.

While he refused to be drawn on any political regrets, Mr Andrews said the worst moment of his political career was having to speak to the loved ones of the four police officers who were mowed down in the horror Eastern Freeway crash in 2020.

The best moment was more recent: riding a test train through the yet-to-be-opened Metro Tunnel under Melbourne’s CBD last Thursday.

Asked his final message to Victorians, Mr Andrews said: “Thank you. Thank you so much. I will always be profoundly grateful for the honour and privilege of leading this very special place.”

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE DEADLY

When Daniel Andrews claimed victory at the November 2014 election, he proclaimed he was not going to waste a day. There’s no doubt over his nine years in the top job he has worked hard, but some of his failures have been catastrophic for Victoria. Here’s the highs and lows of the Andrews years.

• THE GOOD

Level crossing removals and infrastructure

Demolishing 50 dangerous level crossings was the first big signature policy announced by Mr Andrews, and has been mostly deemed by most as a vote winner, despite controversies like the Cranbourne Pakenham line skyrail and lack of community consultation.

The program was so successful that it’s now been expanded to remove 110 crossing by 2023.

Other infrastructure projects heralded as positive game changers for the city’s landscape include the Metro Rail Tunnel, the West Gate Tunnel, and the North East Link.

Domestic violence

Under Mr Andrews Australia’s first Royal Commission into Family Violence was carried out, prompting huge changes including harsher sentencing for family violence thugs, mandatory reporting by police, streamlined intervention orders processes, and more than $6.5bn in added funding for new services and support.

Housing

This month the Andrews government released its landmark Housing Statement which the premier said he was proud would be “the last big reform that I did”.

Under the changes Victoria will become the first state in Australia to have an Airbnb tax of 7.5 per cent tax, 44 housing towers will be rebuilt and planning laws overhauled to create faster approvals and social housing quotas for developers.

Education

Upgrading schools and improving access to childcare were key for Andrews in the early years of government. More than $1.6bn has been committed to building new education facilities, new funding for TAFE has topped more than $1bn, and more than $800m was spent removing deadly asbestos from schools. Parents were also huge fans of the free kinder for three- and four-year-olds.

Major events

Victoria’s status as Australia’s major events capital was solidified under Andrews’ watch.

The world-famous Australian Open tournament is guaranteed to stay in Melbourne until 2036.

Melbourne will also host the Australian Grand Prix until 2035 after Formula One extended the current agreement for another 10 years.

Voluntary euthanasia

Victoria became the first state to legalise voluntary euthanasia after Andrews said his “view had changed” following the death of his father.

• THE BAD

Debt disaster

Andrews is leaving behind huge debt with the money owed by the state predicted to soar to $171bn by 2026-27, almost$70,000 for every household.

The state’s debt burden is double that of NSW and economists have repeatedly slammed Mr Andrews for his frivolous spending.

Notable waste of taxpayers money includes the $1.1bn to dump the controversial East West Link project.

Victorian taxpayers have also been slugged more than $24bn on consultants, contractors and labour hire fees since Daniel Andrews came to office in 2014.

At the same time public sector spending in departments and administrative offices – saw a 17.6 per cent employment spike in2020-21 alone.

BIg Build blowouts

Also contributing to Dan’s debt bomb is his Big Build program.

In 2021, cost blowouts of almost $6bn were identified on 42 major projects in Victoria, including train station car parks and rail upgrades.

The spiralling costs are also set to continue after Mr Andrews’ departure with independent analysis warning the first two stages of the Suburban Rail Loop will cost $125bn – well above the $50bn claimed by the government.

Commonwealth Games

Victoria cancelling its hosting of the Commonwealth Games in July, after costs blew out from $2.6bn to $7bn, was one of the biggest shocks of Andrews’ premiership.

The announcement prompted international outrage and will likely cost Victorians in excess of $380m.

Fire services reform

Between 2014 and 2017 the Andrews Government secretly worked towards splitting the state’s fire services – a move blamed for the falling number of CFA volunteers.

The restructuring – which resulted in the new professional Fire Rescue Victoria force replacing the Metropolitan Fire brigade and splitting off the volunteer CFA force – ended in the CFA board being sacked.

The move took it’s toll on the government too. Then Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett quit the ministry in revolt and the split is now subject to two ongoing inquiries by the state anti-corruption watchdog with the interactions between the powerful United Firefighters Union and the Andrews government being probed.

Corruption and integrity

A sore point during Andrews’ reign was the numerous integrity issues.

The Labor Party were forced to pay back more than $388,000 dollars after the Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass found Labor misused taxpayers money to bankroll campaign staff in the 2014 election.

Last year, Labor branch stacking allegations were probed by the Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) with two former government ministers found to have breached parliamentary codes of conduct.

The watchdog also investigated the government awarding a $1.2m contract to a Labor-affiliated union, but Andrews downplayed the issue.

Throughout Andrews’ term IBAC and the Victorian Ombudsman’s office have also warned repeatedly that the government was underfunding integrity agencies.

The cosy relationship between China and Andrews has also drawn criticism including Andrews’ secret agreement on Belt and Road, signed in the days before the 2018 state election – and lateR stopped by the Federal government.

• THE DEADLY

Covid-19 catastrophe

Andrews handling of Covid-19 was disastrous. Victoria suffered the most deaths of any state and also endured the longest hard lockdowns in the world, at 267 days.

The Andrews government botched contact tracing
and the initial hotel quarantine program was found to be the “seeding ground” for Covid-19, which was deemed responsible for 768 deaths and 18,418 cases.

During the inquiry that followed, Mr Andrews took responsibility, saying the “buck stops” with him. However, he admitted seeding power to chief health officer Brett Sutton who made calls like shutting down kids playgrounds.

Lockdowns have also left a dark legacy for younger generations. Nearly 60 per cent of Victorian youth report feeling depressed or down.

Triple-0 crisis

Andrews himself declared there was a triple-0 operator crisis in 2014, but in just under 10 years the system did not improve after Labor won government. For years the system was plagued with delays and funding shortages, and despite the warnings to government nothing effective was done. In 2022 a report linked at least 12 deaths to Victoria’s crisis-addled triple-0 service.