Skip to main content

Wangaratta Chronicle 270923

Page 1

TODAY

22o

Fog then sunny

24o 25o 28o THURS

FRI

SAT

www.wangarattachronicle.com.au

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

$1.80 INC. GST

Phone (03) 5723 0100

Dan Andrews steps down as Victorian Premier Concerns over end of The Academy Page 2

By RYAN MALCOLM DANIEL Andrews has announced he will step down as Victorian Premier, after nearly nine years in the state’s top job. The 51-year-old, who originally hails from Wangaratta and attended Galen College, will quit politics altogether from 5pm this evening after 13 years as the Victorian Labor leader, leaving a role which he described as “the honour and privilege” of his life. Having first assumed the seat of Mulgrave at the 2002 election under the Bracks Government, Mr Andrews rose through the ranks to be named party leader in 2010, and was in charge as Labor was successful at the 2014 election, at which time he was named premier. His Labor Government was subsequently re-elected in 2018 and again in 2022, despite heavy scrutiny around the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr Andrews said through the good and the bad, his government had sought to do “what’s right”. “As much as we’ve achieved together, there’s so much more to do,” he said. “Recently, in talking to my kids and (wife) Cath, thoughts of what life will be like after this job 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 the role had consumed him throughout recent years. ■ Continued page 2

STEPPING BACK: Victorian Premier and former Galen College student Daniel Andrews, pictured at Brown Brothers a year ago, has announced he will be leaving politics as of 5pm this evening. PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

plus

tv GUIDE

Purss to lead women Warriors

Sport

Fire danger plea CFA urging g gp public to refresh rating g knowledge g ahead of increased bushfire risk WANGARATTA and district residents are being urged to refresh their knowledge of the state’s fire danger ratings, ahead of forecast ideal conditions for bushfires throughout the region during the summer months. With drier, hotter conditions expected as a result of the recently-announced El Nino weather pattern,

BY RYAN MALCOLM rmalcolm@ nemedia.com.au

CFA officials are calling on residents in fire-prone areas to familiarise themselves with the new four-tier warning system, which outlines moderate, high, extreme

and catastrophic fire risk. The dry conditions have already prevailed throughout the Rural City of Wangaratta, with rainfall figures for September to date (9.4mm) on track to be Wangaratta’s lowest in a century. Wangaratta-based CFA District 23 acting assistant chief fire officer Mark Narayan said it was impor-

tant residents understood there had been a shift in the region’s fire risk in the wake of a three-year wetter La Nina weather phenomenon. “We don’t want complacency to step in – we’re fire prone in Victoria and I think most people would know that,” he said. “This is the second year we’ve had our new Australian

Fire Danger Rating system, and this is a national system so it is meant to be simpler for everyone to understand. “You need to know what they (the ratings) mean and what to do if a fire takes hold – for example, if we get to extreme, fires are going to spread quickly and be extremely dangerous… we’re going to expect hot,

dry and windy conditions. “We’ll need people to take action to protect their life and property, check their bushfire plans, take immediate action, move to a safer location if you can, consider your travel through bushfire risk areas, and we need to leave bushfire risk areas early in the day – that’s your safest option. ■ Continued page 2

TOUCH FREE LASER WASH & TURBO VAC

DOG WASH

OPEN

24/7

51-59 Appin St, Wangaratta

EN NOW OP 1300 521 138

GET UR SHINE ON!


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Wangaratta Chronicle 270923 by Provincial Press Group - Issuu