THE surprise resignation of Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews during the week has received a strongly polarised reaction, with many supporters and organisations praising his 13 years of Labor leadership and nine as premier - but also a considerable range of individuals and media commentators celebrating his exit.

Indeed, the wide gap in opinions on his government extended well beyond state borders, with even overseas critics weighing in on his departure, many of those citing the principles behind his world record 262-day COVID lockdowns as egregious, but others such as the prime minister, Anthony Albanese calling him a man of “deep conviction, great compassion and fierce determination”.

But behind the opposing views on the man are questions from those in regional areas as the future looks increasingly dismal for State Government support for issues such as road maintenance and infrastructure spending, as Victoria’s debt seemingly headed towards eclipsing New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania combined.

Gross debt has more than quadrupled in his time - non-financial public sector gross debt has been forecast to exceed $239 billion by 2026-27 - and Victorians will now be paying $8 billion a year in interest alone.

Elected in November 2014 winning 47 to 38 seats, Andrews’ government went on to increase their majority in both the 2018 and 2022 elections, with the Coalition Opposition looking increasingly weak and unelectable as an alternative despite a list of major issues that followed his regime.

The Hotel Quarantine ‘I can’t specifically recall’ inquiry, the $388,000 red shirts rort, other multiple inquiries by the anti-corruption commission, hospitals regularly on bypass, housing pressures, the subversion of the Country Fire Authority, weaponising police during lockdowns, even bullying accusations from a female MP – his government was far from unblemished, but still nothing substantial ever stuck to man dubbed by some as ‘Teflon Dan’.

More recently with the cancellation of the Commonwealth Games and a growing list of other projects over budget, underfunded, late or put on hold indefinitely, Mr Andrews instead cited personal convictions on Tuesday as his reason for walking away from state politics after almost 21 years in office and 3224 days as premier.

“When it’s time, it’s time,” he said.

“Recently, in talking to my kids and (wife) Cath, thoughts of what life will be like after this job is done have started to creep in and I’ve always known that the moment that happens it’s time to go and to give this privilege, this amazing responsibility, to someone else.

Mr Andrews said, “now is the time to step away” and cited the recent Housing Statement as a good time with “one of the most profound shake-ups in one of the most important policy areas”.

“(It) will guarantee that Victorians across the state have somewhere to call home,” he said.

“After all, what can be more important than that?”

Part of the Housing Statement earmarked 152,000 of a promised 800,000 new homes to be built in the next decade would be in regional areas.

But the Opposition said the plan was “a decade too late” and the housing crisis “should never have reached this point”, with the news of Mr Andrews’ goodbye prompting The Nationals leader, Peter Walsh to say the state “needs a major reset of government and how it works for all Victorians”.

Mr Walsh pointed to “crumbling roads” in regional areas along with the “cost of energy (being) out of control” and driven by “ideological decisions” being part of the legacy of Mr Andrews’ time.

There were also concerns about Freedom of Information (FOI) requests relating to ‘The Office of the Premier’ now being in jeopardy including hotel quarantine texts, a speech to the Post-pandemic China-Australia Economic Co-operation Forum and matters relating to a four-day trip to China beginning on March 28, 2023.

Shadow special minister of state, David Davis, has written to the Victorian Information Commissioner asking the office (OVIC) to intervene and to prevent the destruction of documents sought under FOI from the office of the departing premier.

Union leaders praised Mr Andrews, with Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation secretary, Lisa Fitzpatrick - personally named by him in his resignation speech - saying she was “saddened by this announcement”.

“In my time as Branch Secretary, I have worked with five Victorian premiers, both Labor and Liberal,” she said.

“None have been as willing to meet, listen, and to act on, the concerns and wishes of Victoria’s nurses and midwives.

“His extraordinary work ethic, his values, and his visionary leadership will be greatly missed. We will miss the respect shown over many years and indeed decades for Victoria’s nurses and midwives, the work that they do and for the union that represents them.

“Mr Andrews’ extensive legacy will remain for many years to come, and the state’s nurses, midwives and carers will continue to benefit.”

But Western Victoria MP, Bev McArthur had a different view of his legacy, delivering a scathing assessment with a statement beginning with “Goodbye and good riddance” and claimed, “it’s always been Victorians on the hook for the premier’s arrogant, over-confident, self-satisfied incompetence, never the man himself”.

“Daniel Andrews’ legacy of project mismanagement and antipathy to business leaves an economy heavily indebted, overtaxed and overregulated,” she said.

“But his dismissive attitude to democracy and accountability could be even more damaging: it will take years to rebuild Victorians’ faith in our government.”

Ms McArthur said her criticism was more about “the ideology which has done the damage, not the personality”.

“The premier has been an unparalleled spearhead, but it is Labor’s ideologically-driven statist, anti-enterprise, anti-individual, anti-tradition dogma which he has so effectively enacted,” she said.

“If we can thank Andrews for anything, it should be for showing the Left’s true colours. His stubborn, self-certain approach wasn’t just an illustration of his personality, or his belief that the ends justify the means.

“Daniel Andrews was an idealist, and he has shown us beyond doubt that the zealotry of the Left brooks no compromise, pragmatism or tolerance.”

Lowan MP, Emma Kealy took issue with Mr Andrews’ repeated reference to being “a kid from the country” living in Wangaratta when he was about 11 to 18 years-old, calling his treatment of rural Victoria “a lack of respect”.

“There is no way shape or form that Daniel Andrews in his career as premier showed that he was anything but the premier for Melbourne,” Ms Kealy said.

“The reality is, he has done nothing to help regional Victoria.”

Several business organisations and bodies have welcomed the appointment of Jacinta Allan as new premier, with Master Builders Victoria and Regional Cities Victoria (RCV) both referring to the Housing Statement as a positive and the latter saying, “the appointment was good news for regional Victoria”.

“As a regional Victorian, Ms Allan has represented the electorate of Bendigo East for 24 years and has an outstanding understanding of the issues faced by regional communities,” RCV chair, Cr Andrea Metcalf said.

“We have always had a productive and responsive relationship with Ms Allan while she was deputy premier, and we will continue to engage with her office on regional issues in her new position as premier.”

Ms Kealy also congratulated Ms Allan but questioned if her rural electorate would enable her to better serve those outside Melbourne.

“I am very concerned it will be business as usual,” Ms Kealy said.

“More money wasted. More debt. More mismanagement. More secrecy. More poor governance.

“Jacinta Allan was the key minister behind the scrapped Commonwealth Games and the $30 billion of cost overruns on Victoria’s major projects - all in Melbourne of course. That hardly fills you with confidence.

“It is time to invest genuinely in regional Victoria, which has long been neglected.”

It is unknown at this time what Mr Andrews will do in the future - he has said it would not be a public sector position - but it was unlikely he will take much of a financial hit from stepping down - he recently secured a 3.5 per cent pay rise lifting his salary to $481,190 and will still receive a pension of up to $300,000 annually and a private driver for life after leaving office.

Nevertheless, a large crowd gathered outside Parliament House on Wednesday evening, the intersection of Spring and Bourke Streets in Melbourne was blocked for hours after 5pm with thousands of people cracking open beers and filling glasses with champagne to celebrate the news.

Finally, a cinema just across the border in Mt Gambier saw an opportunity with his resignation, offering cheaper movie tickets for Victorians with “a safe space in SA to forget about things for a while”.

Until Sunday, the online promo code ‘ByeDan’ meant $8 tickets for those who have a 3xxx home postcode and even cheekily took aim at the recent Airbnb levy by suggesting making “a short break of it … stay a night in some great Limestone coast accommodation and be surprised at how affordable it is … up to 7.5 per cent cheaper.”

The offer was specifically not extended to Collingwood supporters.