Former premier Daniel Andrews has thrown his support behind the Victoria’s new Labor leader, Ben Carroll, saying he has what it takes to win November’s state election.
In a rare public statement on Wednesday, Andrews also paid tribute to Jacinta Allan, who he handpicked to replace him as premier when he resigned in September ۲۰۲۳.
Allan quit the top job on Tuesday morning, minutes before she was set to face a planned leadership spill brought on by Carroll. According to Carroll, he agreed to stand after a cross-factional delegation of MPs told him on Monday the premier had lost the confidence of the caucus.
In his statement, Andrews said he first met Allan when he was the “most junior official at the ALP Head Office and she was the youngest candidate in a seemingly unwinnable Liberal stronghold in Bendigo”.
“Together, we worked to win that seat and for the next ۲۵ years, to elect Labor governments and deliver a Labor agenda for working people,” Andrews said.
“There is no greater compliment in politics than to say someone lives their values – that has always been true of JA. For nearly three decades, she has been a champion for Bendigo, for workers, for women, for the future of Victoria.”
Andrews congratulated Carroll on his elevation, describing him as a “great campaigner who will take it up to the Liberal Party and One Nation”.
“Elections like this are won by a handful of votes in a handful of seats. I believe Premier Carroll and his team can win in November,” he said. “As he has rightly pointed out the stakes are high.”
He also expressed concern that Victoria could face cuts to service if the Liberals form government with the help of One Nation.
Another former Labor premier, Steve Bracks, said Allan had “no option” but to resign on Tuesday, and that Carroll would bring a “fresh approach”.
“He’ll market himself as not a fourth-term Labor leader, but as a new Labor leader … in a new term with a new set of policies and programs,” Bracks told ABC radio.
after newsletter promotion
Prior to Tuesday, speculation about a leadership spill had been building for months, fuelled by polling that suggested Labor would lose the November election, alongside Allan’s unpopularity and rising support for One Nation.
Allan’s leadership had also been dogged by allegations of corruption by the construction union working on the government’s Big Build of infrastructure, as she was the minister responsible at the time. While she apologised for criminal conduct that has been uncovered, she had also rejected calls for a royal commission, despite pleas from colleagues.
Carroll’s first act as premier was to announce he would hold a royal commission into the entire construction section.
He told reporters on Wednesday he had already asked the Department of Premier and Cabinet to start working on “exhaustive” terms of reference and confirmed the commission will look into the Labor government’s oversight of the Big Build.
“No stone [will be left] unturned,” Carroll said. “Whether it is top-tier contractors, subcontractors, labour hire, government, unions – these will be exhaustive terms of reference.”
Carroll also flagged the $۳۴.۵bn Suburban Rail Loop – a key project of Allan’s and Andrews’ – would also be discussed by cabinet.
He did not indicate whether the project would be reviewed. But in response to another question, he said he was “going to be a premier that doesn’t break contracts”.
Carroll reiterated he was “very focused” on the train line to Melbourne airport, which had stalled up until recently.
The new premier chose a Kmart store as the location for Wednesday’s press conference, in a nod to his eight years working at its Airport West store through high school and university.
