By Angus Mcintyre, Nca Newswire

Published: 11:22 BST, 27 September 2023 | Updated: 11:22 BST, 27 September 2023

Hundreds of people gathered on the steps of Victorian parliament to celebrate Premier Daniel Andrews’ resignation on Wednesday. The ecstatic crowd joined together in a countdown to 5pm – the moment Mr Andrews officially stepped down as leader of the state after nine years in power.

Some revelers even wore party hats and drank champagne and beer to mark the occasion.

‘This is just the start, we are pushing for justice,’ a lead organizer told the crowd of an event which was half party, half protest.

Many of those attending sported t-shirts or banners demanding ‘justice’ for Melbourne’s Covid-19 lockdowns.

The system isn’t working in the interests of the people,’ a man addressing the crowd said.

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 slightly confusing scenes, many of the crowd wore ‘Dan must go’ t-shirts despite the fact that the Premier’s resignation had been made official just a few moments before.

Others wore ‘Make Australia Great Again’ merchandise and held banners which included the words ‘Ban Dan’ and ‘Dictator Dan wanted for crimes against Victoria’.

Mr 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 departing Premier from those who packed the parliament’s steps on Wednesday.

A musician led the crowd in a loud chorus of ‘You can shove your Daniel Andrews up your a***’.

The event did not live up to some earlier social media hype promising thousands would attend, though.

Only about 250-300 people were present at 5.30pm.

One confused bystander summed up the question of many bystanders, asking: ‘Isn’t he (Andrews) already gone?’