Ben Carroll wins Victorian Premier ballot after Allan steps down

Jacinta Allan has stepped down as Victoria’s Premier, with her deputy Ben Carroll winning a caucus vote to become Premier.

The decision created a whirlwind within the Labor caucus, with Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny making a bid against Carroll for the leadership.

👋 Bowing out: Speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning, Allan said stepping aside was a “difficult decision”, but forcing a ballot would have wasted time and resources so close to the November 28 election.

• “I believe I would have won,” she said.

🗯️ The fallout: Labor MPs met shortly afterwards to elect a new Premier, Deputy Premier and party leader.

• In a surprise move, Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny nominated for the leadership, launching a heated meeting behind closed doors with votes and discussion. However, mere minutes before MPs had to enter Parliament, they emerged to announce the party had decided to elect Carroll.

• Oakleigh MP Steve Dimopoulos and Dandenong MP Gabrielle Williams contested the deputy leadership, with Williams elected.

🗓️ How’d we get here? The MP for Bendigo East since 1999, Allan became Premier in September 2023 after Daniel Andrews’ resignation.

• Speculation about her leadership intensified in June after corruption allegations emerged surrounding Victoria’s Big Build projects. 

⏭️ What’s next? With fewer than four months until the election, Labor must now try and unite behind Carroll and Williams and refocus its campaign.

• A Newspoll released on Monday showed Labor trailing the Coalition 52 to 48 percent on a two-party-preferred basis. The Coalition led the primary vote with 31 percent, followed by Labor on 28 per cent and One Nation on 19 percent.