Daniel Andrews steps down LIVE updates: Victorian premier steps ...

Premier Daniel Andrews’ snap press conference is now over, but you can rewatch his announcement below.

Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam has also been asked for her view on the outgoing premier’s sudden resignation.

Here’s what she had to say to the press gallery earlier:

Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam, centre. Credit: Wayne Taylor

I’d like to thank Premier Andrews for his service to the Victorian community. While we may have had our ideological differences from time to time, Victoria has taken some big steps forward under the leadership of the premier.

And when Labor’s new leadership team is announced, we look forward to working with them to address the big challenges facing Victoria ... from the climate crisis ... to the worsening housing crisis.

Meanwhile, Victorian Nationals leader Peter Walsh had this to say about Daniel Andrews’ resignation:

Nationals leader Peter Walsh, left, looks on during Opposition Leader John Pesutto’s press conference.Credit: Wayne Taylor

Please, whoever is the future premier, let’s have a reset. Let’s go to all Victorians to make sure that all the problems of the past are actually fixed. The money that has been wasted, the corruption, the nepotism.

Building major power infrastructure lines across Victoria willy-nilly is not the right call for regional Victoria. There is better ways of doing it.

Let’s go back to the drawing board. Let’s govern for all Victorians. Let’s start making sensible decisions, rather than decisions based on ideology.

You can read more about the power lines Walsh was referring to, which are shaping up to be a major issue in the regions, here.

Opposition Leader John Pesutto is due to speak any minute now.

Watch live below.

Photographers Wayne Taylor and Jason South were both at Victorian parliament this afternoon to capture Daniel Andrews’ resignation.

You can view the full gallery here.

Daniel Andrews prepares to announce he is stepping down as Victorian premier.Credit: Wayne Taylor

Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto says Premier Daniel Andrews is resigning “because things are falling apart”.

Pesutto, speaking to radio station 3AW, acknowledged that Andrews had been a parliamentarian and premier for a long time, but said “the truth” was the premier was departing due to a litany of issues confronting the state.

Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto.Credit: Justin McManus

Here’s a taste of what the Victorian Liberal leader had to say:

Whether it’s debt, whether it’s interest, whether it’s taxes going through the roof to plug the budget blackhole. Whether it’s the Commonwealth Games debacle that saw at least $600 million torched for no good reason – which could all have been avoided had the government just done its job.

Whether it’s corruption report after corruption report into the government, whether it’s the politicisation of the public service … I think it is clear – whilst I recognise his service to the parliament and the people – he is leaving because things have become so bad.

Pesutto said Victoria needed a reset, but said he wasn’t hopeful one would occur under deputy premier Jacinta Allan, who is widely expected to take on the top job.

I really don’t have any confidence that there’ll be any change. 

If it were to be, say, the deputy premier who took over, I think we all realise and know that nothing is going to change if Jacinta Allen becomes premier.

As mentioned earlier, the opposition leader is holding a press conference around 3.30pm. Stay tuned for the livestream.

Former state health minister Martin Foley has just popped up on ABC TV and had this to say about the leadership style of his former boss:

Former Victorian health minister Martin Foley.Credit: Simon Schluter

He’s a very strong leader, he made sure that he led from the front, he would never ask you to do anything that he would not be prepared to do himself.

He redefined what political leadership meant, had a strong, firm view about reshaping what a state government could achieve. Whether it was in transport, education, health, social policy, he will go down as the pre-eminent political figure of his era.

As you may recall, Foley became health minister during the height of Melbourne’s long coronavirus lockdown. The Victorian capital eventually became the most locked-down city in the world.

The premier’s social media team has just published this photo of Daniel Andrews, his wife Catherine and their two sons to X, the website formerly known as Twitter.

The photo appears to have been taken shortly after the outgoing premier’s snap press conference.

Returning to the political tributes, and former premier John Brumby, who was the last Labor leader of Victoria before Andrews, says the man who replaced him as the leader of Victorian Labor leaves “a fantastic legacy for the state”.

Daniel Andrews was Health Minister under premier John Brumby.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui

“I know there are many people with divided views about the premier, but he won three elections,” Brumby told radio station 3AW.

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“He’s invested hugely in the infrastructure, which improves people’s lives – things like level crossings. [He] has given more choice to Victorians through things like voluntary assisted dying, and he’s really led the charge of all Australian states to transform our energy sector, and get more wind and more solar, so that we can better tackle climate change.

“So I think he leaves an incredible legacy. And I’m one of those people on the public record time and time again that strongly supported his leadership during those extraordinarily difficult COVID times for us.”

Brumby acknowledged the next premier would need to tackle Victoria’s significant debt, but defended the government’s decision to scrap the Commonwealth Games and the outgoing premier’s leadership style.

[People] don’t like weak leaders. They generally want strong leaders. But when you get a strong leader, a lot of people say, ‘Oh, well, they’re a bit too strong’. And so it’s a very fine balance to strike between listening and accommodating people’s views, but also being a strong leader. And Daniel’s definitely, categorically, in the strong leader category.