Former Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has resigned from parliament after 27 years.
She will not recontest Bendigo East at the November election, a seat he has held since 1999.
It comes after 52-year-old announced her resignation in the state’s top job last month after almost three years following an internal revolt ahead of the November election, with internal rival Ben Carroll taking her place.
Allan was the youngest female MP ever elected to the Victorian parliament in 1999 at just 25 and also grabbed the title of the state’s youngest minister at 29.
She was appointed Daniel Andrews‘ successor when he retired in September 2023 after leading Labor to election victories in 2014, 2018 and 2022.
Reflecting on her achievements as premier in her resignation speech last month, Allan spoke about reforms to women’s health and her own personal experience.
‘I’m a woman, I’m a mum. I have lived with endometriosis and I almost lost my daughter at birth,’ she said tearfully.
‘These experiences not only defined who I am, they defined what I believe government should do for working women.
‘For too long, women’s pain was dismissed. I was one of those women. I was just a girl.
Former Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has resigned from parliament after 27 years
‘If I want to be remembered for one thing, it’s this – I led a government that listened to girls about their health.’
Other accomplishment she cited were building major projects, removing level crossings, strengthening anti-hate laws, signing a treaty with Aboriginal Victorians, and overhauling planning laws to promote construction of housing.
However, her political legacy may be complicated by overseeing Victorian Labor’s Big Build program as transport infrastructure minister from 2018 to 2023.
Widespread corruption allegations within Victoria’s construction sector, including on government worksites, have been aired during the course of a Queensland inquiry and in media reporting.
Allan previously said her government cracked down immediately when made aware of union misconduct allegations in mid-2024, but she refused to call a royal commission.
As the minister tasked with delivering the 2026 Commonwealth Games in regional Victoria, she was heavily criticised after the Andrews government paid a $380 million settlement to cancel the event.
