Dan Andrews: Hundreds celebrate Dan Andrews’ final seconds as Victorian Prime Minister with New Year’s Eve-style countdown outside Parliament House
Hundreds of people gathered on the steps of the Victorian Parliament on Wednesday to celebrate the resignation of Premier Daniel Andrews.
The ecstatic crowd gathered to countdown to 5pm – when Mr Andrews officially stepped down as state leader after nine years in power.
Some partygoers even wore party hats and drank champagne and beer to celebrate the occasion.
“This is just the beginning, we are calling for justice,” a lead organizer told the crowd of an event that was half party, half protest.
Many of the attendees wore T-shirts or banners demanding ‘justice’ for Melbourne’s Covid-19 lockdowns.
Hundreds of people (pictured) have gathered on the steps of the Victorian Parliament to celebrate the resignation of Premier Daniel Andrews
“The system is not working in the interest of the people,” said one man addressing the crowd.
A large police presence was established in central Melbourne as trams and traffic had to be diverted to make way for the large demonstration.
In somewhat confusing scenes, much of the audience wore ‘Dan must go’ T-shirts, despite the Prime Minister’s resignation having been made official moments earlier.
Others wore ‘Make Australia Great Again’ merchandise and held banners with the words ‘Ban Dan’ and ‘Dictator Dan wanted for crimes against Victoria’.
Andrews announced his resignation on Tuesday after winning three elections for the Victorian Labor Party.
Despite his success, he will leave a divisive legacy due to Melbourne’s Covid-19 lockdowns, which were among the longest of any city in the world.
There was certainly no fond farewell for the outgoing Prime Minister from those who occupied the steps of Parliament on Wednesday.
One protester (pictured) expressed the wish that Daniel Andrews would ‘rot in hell’
The event’s promoters (pictured) said thousands would attend, but only about 250 to 300 people showed up
The party continued as the evening progressed
A musician led the crowd in a loud chorus of ‘You can shove your Daniel Andrews up your a***’.
However, the event fell short of an earlier social media hype that promised thousands would attend.
By 5:30 PM there were only about 250-300 people present.
A confused bystander summed up the question of many bystanders and asked, “Isn’t he (Andrews) gone already?”