Daniel Andrews steps down as it happened: Victorian premier steps down after nine years in power

Staying with that interview for a moment, and Jeff Kennett said it’s too early to say with certainty what Daniel Andrews’ legacy will be.

The former Liberal premier added that he was “a little surprised” the premier had stepped down given he previously said he would serve out his full-term, but, on the other hand, he was not overly shocked given the toll of leadership over a long period.

After he was premier, Jeff Kennett was the president of the Hawthorn football club.Credit: Getty

“I always say that somewhere between seven and nine years is the optimum period for a person to serve in a leadership position,” Kennett said.

“You either achieve your goals, in which case you should hand over responsibility, or you don’t, and then you certainly should. So, Daniel has been there for nine years. He is at the extremity of my preferred optimum time. To that extent, I am not surprised.”

When asked how Andrews would be remembered, Kennett said he had strong control over his party, but said his legacy wouldn’t truly be known for years.

“The real test is not where you start, but it is where you finish. And the state in which you finish. And the state in which you leave the community, in this case as a politician, or as a businessman,” the former Liberal leader said.

“Daniel’s legacy will not be determined today or tomorrow. It will be determined over the next three or four years and might be determined over the next 20 years.”

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Kennett said as a former premier, he understood the honour of the role, and “the controls, the pressure, the scrutiny that is put upon you”.

“So I don’t want to, today, within an hour or two of Daniel announcing his retirement, give you my view of all the strengths and weaknesses of his period in office,” he said.

He also saw some similarities between his governance style and that of Andrews, but drew some distinctions.

“I never controlled my party in the way that he controlled his,” Kennett said, adding the outgoing premier’s willingness to take on debt was another difference in his approach to state administration.

When asked what he would say to Andrews if he bumped into him, Kennett said he “would wish him well”.