LGBT Ally Dan Andrews Resigns As Victorian Premier
Image: Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Image: Supplied.
Victorian Premier and outspoken LGBTQI ally Daniel Andrews has resigned.
“To have been Premier for nine years and the leader of my party for 13 years is a greater set of opportunities that I ever thought be afforded to me, I came from the country with only really an aspiration to do good,” Andrews, Victoria’s longest-serving Labor Premier, said at a press conference on Tuesday.
“When it is time, it is time,” Andrews said, adding, “I will be forever grateful for the honour of leading this very special place.”
Andrews said that he did not want to resent the job, after 21 years in Parliament, with nine years as the state’s Premier.
“Recently, in talking to my kids and Cath, thoughts of what life will be like after this job started to creep in. 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.””
Andrews’ successor is to be chosen by mid-day on Wednesday. “In terms of what I would do next I’ll have a bit of time off and spend some time with Cath and the kids, and play a bit of golf and read the pile of books that are sitting on the corner that have not been read,” Andrews said about his immediate plans.
LGBTQI Law Reforms
Andrews captained a slew of LGBTQI law reforms, often in the face of virulent opposition from far-right groups and Christian conservatives.
This included a “world-leading” law to ban conversion practices, legalising gay adoptions, making it easier for trans persons to change the sex marker in their birth certificates without undergoing surgery, amendments to the Equal Opportunity Act to protect LGBTQI students in religious schools and setting up Australia’s first LGBTQI community hub, the Victorian Pride Centre.
In 2016, Premier Daniel Andrews issued a historic apology to the LGBTQI community – Victoria became the first government in the world to apologise to the LGBTQI community for historical convictions under laws that criminalised homosexuality.
Andrews also walked the Midsumma Pride march as Premier. “Equality in Victoria is not negotiable – we’re building a state that is inclusive for everyone because every space should be a safe one for LGBTIQ+ Victorians.” Premier Andrews said in a statement in May 2023.
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