VICTORIA has its first woman as Premier in 30 years after Jacinta Allan was chosen by Labor to replace Daniel Andrews.
Ms Allan ran for the leadership of the Victorian Labor Party at a caucus meeting on Wednesday in the wake of Mr Andrews’ shock resignation less than 24 hours earlier.
Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll was chosen as deputy.
“Twenty-four years ago almost to the day, when I walked into this place as a much younger woman from regional Victoria I never expected to have this length of service or indeed to be able to have had the honour and privilege of serving the Victorian community in various ministerial roles,” an emotional Ms Allan told reporters.
“I pledge to continue to work incredibly hard as I have done each and every day.”
The Bendigo East MP will be Victoria’s second female leader and the first Labor premier from regional Victoria in almost 100 years.
Ms Allan became the youngest woman elected to Victoria’s parliament in 1999 at the age of 25 and the state’s youngest minister in history in 2002 at the age of 29.
She took over as Mr Andrews’ deputy and presumed successor in June 2022 and most recently served as Minister for Transport Infrastructure and the Suburban Rail Loop Project.
She was also charged with delivering the now-cancelled 2026 Commonwealth Games until the portfolio was abolished.
Mr Andrews said being Premier had been an “honour and privilege of my life”.
“I’m also proud to think of all that we have achieved over these nine years in good times and always working hard to do what’s right, not simply what’s popular,” he said.
“Recently in talking to my kids and Cath, thoughts of what life will be like after this job have started to creep in,” Mr Andrews said.
“I have always known that the moment that happens, it is time to go and to give this privilege, this amazing responsibility, to someone else.”
Mr Andrews became Premier in November 2014, booting out a first-term Liberal government, and led Labor to two more victories in 2018 and 2022.
During the 2022 election campaign and in the months after, Mr Andrews repeatedly said he would stay for the full four-year term.
He said the change of heart was a recent decision.
“It was true then but I changed my mind,” he said.
Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh said he had little faith in Ms Allan being up the task of overseeing a “major reset”.
“The track record of our new Premier shows Victorians should brace themselves for more of the same,” Mr Walsh said.
“I am deeply concerned it will be business as usual: more money wasted, more debt, more mismanagement, more secrecy, more poor governance.
“Victorians talk about Daniel Andrews handing Jacinta Allan a poisoned chalice.
“The truth is, her fingerprints are already all over the chalice.
“Victoria is in a worse position than I can recall and Jacinta Allan has been an integral part of the government that has overseen Victoria’s demise.
“There needs to be a major reset.
“It’s time for a government that governs for all people, and Jacinta Allan has done little to prove she is up to the task.”
In his nine years as Premier, Mr Andrews failed to visit the Swan Hill region.
The closest he came was Kerang for the 10-year anniversary of the Kerang rail disaster in 2017.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Mr Andrews would leave a legacy in education, health, infrastructure and housing.
“Daniel Andrews is a person of deep conviction, great compassion and fierce determination and he brought all those qualities to his time as Premier of Victoria,” Mr Albanese said.
“Dan’s leadership was tested by some of the toughest times.
“In the relentless pressure of a once-in-a-generation pandemic, Dan never shirked the hard decisions
” He fronted up, he stood up and he did everything in his power to keep Victorians safe.”
