As Daniel Andrews ends his nine-year term as Victorian premier at 5pm today, regional Victorians may be considering the legacy he has left behind for their communities.
Mr Andrews announced his resignation at a surprise press conference on Tuesday, saying that leading the state had been "the honour and privilege" of his life.
Born in Williamstown and schooled in Wangaratta, the "kid from the country" made major decisions affecting regional Victoria during his time as premier.
These are the ones that arguably had the biggest impact.
A deadline on native timber logging
Daniel Andrews's successor will need to deal with anger from regional communities about the decision to end native timber logging at the end of the year.
In 2019, just months before the Black Summer bushfires and the outbreak of COVID-19, Mr Andrews told Victorians native timber logging would end in 2030.
But that deadline was fast-tracked by seven years to 2023, when late last year, the Victorian Supreme Court found state timber company VicForests broke the law by failing to adequately protect two endangered species.
Mr Andrews always framed his decision as one of necessity, the result of court actions halting native logging, and dwindling timber supply — in large part because of bushfire.
"You simply cannot pretend that we can keep logging … do you use the intervening periods to support workers … or do you kick it down the road and pretend?" he said.
The decision came amid pressure from environmental groups to wind up logging to protect endangered species, such as the Leadbeater's possum and the greater glider.
The call shocked timber communities throughout Victoria, who feared the economic impact and job losses that would come.
A further $200 million was allocated to help the industry transition, on top of previously announced support, but many in timber communities remain unconvinced that their towns will have enough time to adjust.
The COVID-19 ring of steel
During the COVID pandemic, the Victorian government — led by Mr Andrews and advised by the state's chief health officer Brett Sutton — introduced the so-called "ring of steel", to stop city folk from taking their COVID germs into regional towns.
Police staffed highway checkpoints and regional business owners had to check the IDs of patrons dining in their restaurants.
Melbourne became a city where citizens were supervised by police and soldiers, and its economy was crushed.
And while regional Victoria's lockdown rules were somewhat milder, they also took a big toll.
The ring of steel around regional Victoria and repeated lockdowns hit hospitality businesses hard.
Metung Hotel owner David Strange said he felt the premier could have kept regional Victoria open.
"We were a long way away from COVID at the time, and to impose the dense population rules on such a vast population in regional Victoria just wasn't necessary," he said.
"It was really tough because we didn't know what the next day would bring."
Mr Strange said the premier's legacy in regional Victoria was overwhelmingly negative.
"The pub test as I hear every day [from customers is] everyone talks against him, and I guess his personality doesn't lend you to feel in love with the man — he is very domineering in how he speaks," he said.
In July 2021, Mr Andrews even called on the NSW government to institute a ring of steel around Greater Sydney, to prevent the spread of the virus to other parts of the country.
Canning the Commonwealth Games
The shock announcement in July that regional Victoria would no longer host the 2026 Commonwealth Games angered communities, who were hanging their post-COVID hopes on the promise of exposure and tourism dollars.
The international sporting event was initially slated to cost the state $2.6 billion, but the premier said those costs had blown out to an impossible $6 billion.
The games were to be held at sporting venues in Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland, where communities would enjoy upgraded sporting venues as a result.
But Mr Andrews said his decision was justified.
"I will not take money out of hospitals and schools to host an event that is three times the cost estimated and budgeted for last year," he said.
In lieu of games funding, Mr Andrews announced a $2 billion spending package for regional Victoria, including a $1 billion Regional Housing Fund to build 1,300 new homes across the regions.
In addition, a $150 million Regional Tourism and Events Fund is set to be established.
When the games were cancelled, Bendigo Bowls Club president Geoff Briggs said he was "gutted and absolutely deflated" to hear the news.
"To have the games in regional cities, and here in Bendigo, it was so exciting. It was exciting for everybody — for youngsters, for oldies … now it's a real feeling of disappointment," he said.
Hazelwood Power Station closed
When Mr Andrews was elected in 2014, nearly all of Victoria's electricity was produced from fossil fuels.
He leaves office with Victoria on track to generate 95 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by the middle of next decade.
In 2014, Victorian homes were powered by the Latrobe Valley's four ageing coal-fired plants — Hazelwood, Yallourn and Loy Yang A and Loy Yang B.
The first hint of change came in late 2016, when the owner of Hazelwood, Engie, gave six months' notice of its plan to close Hazelwood, which was then Australia's most polluting power station.
That day, Mr Andrews visited the Latrobe Valley unveiling a $266 million support package for the community, which was still scarred from the job losses brought on the by privatisation of the industry in the 1990s.
From that point, the government embraced the need for renewal in the state's electricity sector, championing the environmental benefits and employment opportunities that came from renewables.
Deals were struck with the owners of Yallourn (2028) and Loy Yang A (2035) to lock in closure dates, avoiding a potential repeat of the sudden closure of Hazelwood.
The government declared six renewable energy zones across regional Victoria in a bid to foster the growth of renewables, and last year announced a target to produce 9 gigawatts of electricity from offshore wind by 2040.
The importance of electricity to the Andrews government was highlighted during the 2022 election campaign, where the premier was seldom photographed without his State Electricity Commission (SEC) jacket.
But by the time the revived SEC announces its first projects later this year, Mr Andrews will already be long gone.
Cheaper public transport
This year, Mr Andrews honoured an election promise to cut regional public transport fares in line with metropolitan tickets.
V/Line fares were capped at $9.20 for a full fare or $4.60 with a concession and applied to all of Public Transport Victoria's buses, and V/Line train and coach services.
However, the cheap fares lasted just three months before rising 8.6 per cent across both regional Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne.
After the price increase in July, regional fares increased to $10 for a full fare and $5 for a concession.
The fare increase was criticised by the Opposition, which said the hike would hit household budgets.
"The fares are legislated to increase again next January," Shadow Minister for Public Transport Richard Riordan said.
"There is no doubt the Andrews government's commitment to lower fares was the shortest-lived election promise in the history of Victorian politics."
While cheaper fares helped the hip-pocket of some regional Victorians, it created a headache for others, who could no longer get a seat on overcrowded services.
Angry commuters abandoned regional rail trips and called on the government to add more carriages to popular routes.
A spokesman for V/Line said that since the introduction of the regional fare cap in late March, almost 10 million passenger trips had been taken on V/Line services, with passengers already saving more than $17 million.
Loading...Advancing treaty
Victoria has recognised Aboriginal people in its constitution for 20 years, and is currently on track to be the first state in Australia to sign a treaty with local Indigenous people.
The process of treaty started in 2016, when Mr Andrews and his government committed to progressing a treaty.
Shortly after, in July of that year, an Aboriginal Treaty Working Group was established, followed by the appointment of Jill Gallagher as the Victorian Treaty Commissioner in 2018.
In October 2019, the landmark First Peoples' Assembly was elected — a group of democratically elected Indigenous people who provide advice directly to the government.
One of the first actions the assembly called for was the establishment of a truth-telling process, which the premier agreed to in 2020.
The Yoorrook Justice Commission has since been established and has provided a platform for Aboriginal people to share their experiences of injustice.
The First Peoples' Assembly has paid tribute to Mr Andrews for his leadership.
"As premier, Dan Andrews understood the power and importance of listening to First Peoples," Gunditjmara man and assembly co-chair Rueben Berg said.
"Our mob will always remember and appreciate the willingness of his government to embark with us on the shared journey to Treaty in Victoria."
The state is currently on track to start treaty negotiations.