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Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has resigned, sparking celebration from Australians and speculation about his sudden exit.

Victoria’s socialist-left leader Daniel Andrews has announced he is resigning as premier, vacating his seat of Mulgrave, and quitting politics, effective 5pm Wednesday.

He provided little explanation for the decision beyond stating, “When it’s time, it’s time.”

“Recently, in talking to my kids and Cath, thoughts of what life will be like after this job has started to creep in,” he said at a surprise press conference outside parliament on Tuesday. 

“I have always known that the moment that happens it is time to go…”

The snap move represents Andrews’ final broken promise to Victorians, after he committed to serving out a full, four-year term at last November’s election.

“Premier, do you still intend to serve a full term?” he was asked by a reporter at the time.

“Yeah, yeah,” Andrews responded.

“I’m honoured by the choice that the Victorian community have made, and I thank every single Victorian who voted for us for their faith and confidence, and we won’t let you down.”

Daniel Andrews leaves office as Labor’s longest-serving premier of the state, having spent nearly nine years in the role.

The new Labor leader and premier will be chosen by the party at midday on Wednesday, with Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan and Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll tipped as strong favourites.

The Prime Minister Reacts to the News

On hearing the news, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised Andrews as “a person of deep conviction, great compassion and fierce determination”.

The PM made special reference to Andrews’ leadership during the Covid era, stating, “In the relentless pressure of a once-in-a-generation pandemic, Dan never shirked the hard decisions.”

“He stood up each and every day during the pandemic. He stood up for doing what he believed was absolutely right to keep Victorians safe — not making easy decisions, making difficult decisions,” Mr Albanese said.

The Prime Minister’s reaction to Andrews’ announcement stands in stark contrast to that of other Australians.

The Herald Sun has reported that crowds erupted in applause when Eddie McGuire announced the news of Daniel Andrews’ resignation at the AFL Grand Final lunch at Crown.

“It was like a 100-1 outsider had just got up as a rousing cheer broke out. One person was heard saying: ‘Don’t let that door hit you on the way out, Dan’,” the paper recounted.

Media Personalities Praise the Exit of Daniel Andrews

Meanwhile, Chris O’Keefe, host of the Drive show on 2GB Sydney called it “the best news I’ve heard in 2023”.

“Victoria is worse off as a result of him,” O’Keefe added. “Not once does he ever admit failure.”

Sky News host Peta Credlin, a Victorian native, has greeted the news with a scathing account of Andrews’ legacy:

Under Andrews, debt has blown out massively — the worst state debt in the country. Taxes are up, projects are billions over budget and years behind schedule. The state is in the grip of a housing crisis, and small businesses are on their knees, having never recovered from the premier’s world record-breaking lockdowns. Post-Covid, suicide is a scourge; the state’s big hospitals are routinely on bypass, with rats in the corridors; and ambulances are called but too often they never arrive.

And who can ever forget the Andrews’ legacy of gender fluid primary school kids, biological men in women’s prisons; an Indigenous treaty commission that Victorians never voted for, drug injecting rooms, and the all-but-cancellation of Australia Day? That’s before we even get into the issue of Victoria’s crime crisis, with home invasions, violent assaults, carjackings and youth crime on the sort of scale you might expect in Johannesburg or South America, not here in Australia.

Reflections on Daniel Andrews’ Covid Leadership

Federal UAP Senator for Victoria Ralph Babet is also celebrating the end of Andrews’ reign, which he believes will be most defined by the premier’s autocratic response to Covid-19.

“I haven’t felt so much joy since I was a five-year-old waking up on Christmas Day,” Senator Babet said in a statement. According to Babet, Andrews’ resignation is “nine years too late”:

He has left a trail of economic and social destruction that we may never overcome. We’re flat broke because of him…

He locked us down for longer than any other people in the world. In my opinion, he acted like a tyrant who trampled on basic human rights. We will ensure that he is ultimately held to account for his actions.

This megalomaniac locked down our state for a shocking 262 days and yet excess mortality in Victoria was the second highest in Australia, topped only by Tasmania.

School closures in Victoria had a devastating effect on children. More than 50 per cent suffered a decline in mental health, almost twice the national average.

Andrews bullied and demonised unvaccinated Victorians. He resigned two days before the second anniversary of Victorian police shooting rubber bullets at peaceful protesters, even as they fled in terror.

For everyone who is suffering from post-tyranny stress disorder, please reach out for help. This man has caused immeasurable pain which many of us are still suffering today.

Melbourne Freedom Rally, a group that supported peaceful protests against the Andrews Government’s Covid-19 policies, has announced a ‘Dan Andrews Resignation Celebration’, to be held on the steps of Parliament House from 5pm until late on Wednesday.

Social Media Reacts to Daniel Andrews’ Resignation

Users on X, formerly Twitter, have marked Andrews’ resignation by sharing photos and video montages of the treatment Victorians suffered under his leadership during the Covid years.

“This is Dan Andrews’ legacy. Never forget,” wrote Bethany Cherisse, a user with over 31,000 followers. Her words captioned photos of heavily armoured police sporting high-powered weaponry and BearCat armoured vehicles on Melbourne’s streets — equipment designed for sieges and terror incidents, per the Herald Sun.

A three-minute video posted by independent broadcaster ADH TV juxtaposed footage of Daniel Andrews talking down to Victorians during daily press conferences with videos of the human rights abuses he allowed under his watch.

The most disturbing video was posted by account user TheMilkBarTV, for which viewers’ discretion is advised.

International Reactions to Daniel Andrews’ Decision

So infamous was Daniel Andrews’ Covid-era leadership that international personalities have also reacted to his resignation.

Comedian Rob Schneider, famous for his support roles in many Adam Sandler films, wrote on X, “As Australia wakens from it’s covid tyranny Nightmare, there was no other leader more full of hate and vengeance for his own people than Victoria’s Hitlerian Premier ‘Herr’ Dan Andrews”.

Stanford professor and co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, Dr Jay Bhattacharya, welcomed Andrews’ decision.

“Huzzah! Dan Andrews is resigning as Victoria premier and is apparently leaving politics,” he posted on X.

“I can’t wait until every single unrepentant covid tyrant leaves public life.”

“The tyrant is finally gone,” wrote Toby Young, General Secretary of Free Speech Union in the UK. 

Young also noted the generous salary package Andrews enjoyed during his leadership tenure.

“Andrews has been rewarded handsomely for his reign of terror,” he wrote. “In recent months he secured a 3.5% pay rise, lifting his salary to $481,190 (£255,031) – up more than $16,000 (£8,480) from 2022. For comparison, the U.K. Prime Minister receives around £160,000.”

“Andrews will also benefit from a historic pension scheme for MPs elected before 2004, which could see him awarded millions upon retirement,” Young added.

Why Did Daniel Andrews Resign?

Speculation surrounds Daniel Andrews’ decision to step down, and in particular, why he felt the need to vacate his post so suddenly.

Victoria’s opposition leader John Pesutto has said he believes Andrews is standing down “because things are falling apart”.

In particular, Pesutto has called attention to the $200 billion-dollar debt accrued by the Andrews Government “that generations of Victorians will have to pay for and make sacrifices for”.

Peta Credlin is among many who suspect Andrews had been waiting for an assurance from the Prime Minister that his Covid leadership would not be scrutinised by a Royal Commission — a commitment made by Mr Albanese late last week.

Credlin also famously predicted Mr Andrews would quit shortly after becoming eligible for a statue to be erected in his honour if he was re-elected at last year’s state election.

Once Victorian premiers pass 3,000 days in office, they are entitled to be memorialised in bronze near Parliament House. Andrews reached that milestone in February of this year.

Whatever the reason, many Victorians will be breathing a sigh of relief and looking forward to brighter days ahead for their state.

Image via 2GB.