Nearly four weeks after her sudden resignation as Victorian Premier and leader of the Victorian Labor Party, former state leader Jacinta Allan has broken her public silence, marking her first public comment since stepping down with a heartfelt tribute to a beloved local community trailblazer. Allan, who has not appeared in Victorian Parliament since announcing her resignation on July 28, took to social media over the weekend to honor 91-year-old Russell Jack, the founder of Bendigo’s iconic Golden Dragon Museum, who recently passed away.
“It is with great sadness and deepest respect that I honour Russell Jack, a man who played a giant role in shaping the city Bendigo is today,” Allan wrote in a Facebook post paired with photos of Jack. She went on to share warm personal memories of the community icon, noting that their annual embrace at Bendigo’s Easter parade in recent years had become among her most cherished personal moments.
Allan, who previously served as the Member for Bendigo for decades before moving into state leadership, described Jack as a dedicated, family-oriented man who gave decades of voluntary service to the Central Victoria region. Alongside his late wife Joan, Jack spent decades advancing a singular mission: building a permanent, living legacy to document and celebrate the history of Chinese migration to Bendigo and across Australia, work that eventually led to the creation of the Golden Dragon Museum that stands today.
Allan recalled that earlier this year, she had the privilege of launching *Saving Dragons*, a biography of Jack written by Dianne Dempsey, in April 2025. “Today the Golden Dragon Museum is a magnificent monument to Russell’s lifelong commitment,” she added. “I have so many special memories of Russell Jack.”
The social media tribute is Allan’s first public communication with the Victorian community since she announced her abrupt departure from the top job. In her original resignation statement, Allan called her time as premier “the honour of my life,” noting that she had made history as the state’s youngest female member of parliament when she was first elected in 1999, capping off a decades-long political career focused on working-class Victorian families.
“I am making this decision because it is the right thing by the Labor Party and by the Victorian people,” she wrote in the July 28 statement. “This gig has been tough. But let’s be clear. The average working family has it tougher. They’re the people I’ve always put first. I got into politics to fight for them.”