Victoria’s deputy premier, Ben Carroll, has confirmed he will put his hand up to become Labor leader, setting the stage for a showdown with Premier Jacinta Allan.
It comes after a delegation of Labor ministers and MPs met with Ms Allan this morning and urged her to step down, telling her she had lost the majority support of caucus.
In a post on social media platform X, Mr Carroll said a group of his colleagues had asked him to nominate for the leadership position.
“It is clear that the Premier has lost the majority of our Caucus. As such, I have visited the Premier to inform her that I will be nominating for the leadership of the Labor Party,” he said in a post.
“The decision is not easy, but the stakes at the upcoming election are simply too high.”
Ben Carroll previously vowed to stand by the premier. (ABC News: Tara Whitchurch)
The deputy premier had previously insisted he was committed to standing by Ms Allan.
Mr Carroll was asked by reporters in June as to whether he would urge Ms Allan to step aside, which he responded to with a resounding “no”.
“I can look you in the eye and say that, Premier,” he told Ms Allan in an exchange at the time.
“I want to serve Jacinta Allan.
“I’ve got a young daughter at home and I couldn’t be more proud to make sure she grows up knowing that I supported Jacinta Allan to be a world-class premier and get re-elected in her own right.”
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan is facing a leadership challenge, four months out from the state election. (AAP: Joel Carrett)
Earlier this morning, Ms Allan wrote to the Labor Party’s state secretary to indicate she would fight any leadership challenge.
In the letter, Ms Allan said she intended to run as a candidate for the party’s leadership “in the event that an election is required”.
Under Labor party rules, if there is more than one candidate for the party’s leadership, an election must be held among MPs and rank-and-file party members in a process that takes weeks.
The delegation of ministers who met with Ms Allan this morning included Luba Grigorovitch, Enver Erdogan, Lizzie Blandthorn, Anthony Carbines, Gabrielle Williams, Colin Brooks and Ingrid Stitt, as well as MPs Mat Hilakari and Ella George.
It is understood the delegation refused to resign after the meeting.
Labor’s Victorian MPs were today at parliament for a pre-planned cabinet meeting.
The ABC understands Deputy Premier Ben Carroll is seriously considering a leadership tilt. (AAP: Joel Carrett)
Labor has struggled in polls in recent months, with News Corp reporting in June that a majority of voters believed it was time for Ms Allan to be replaced as Victoria’s Labor leader.
Ms Allan’s response to alleged corruption in the taxpayer-funded Big Build scheme has also caused controversy.
There are four months left until the state election in November.
‘Too little, too late’
Speaking on the steps of parliament this morning, Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said Victorians did not want to see “another un-elected Labor premier”.
She refused to say whether she would prefer to be taking on Ms Allan or Mr Carroll at November’s election.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said.
“Ben Carroll is Jacinta Allan’s 2IC — he’s been sitting next to her in parliament, making the same decisions, supporting her decisions not to call a royal commission [into the Big Build corruption scandal].”
Shadow Attorney-General James Newbury called on Labor MPs to instead vote for a motion of no confidence which would trigger an early state election.
“They’ve admitted they don’t have confidence in their government so here is their chance,” the Liberal MP said.
“Vote for change, vote for an election tomorrow in parliament and we can see Victorians have a say in the future in their government.”
Premier Jacinta Allan has been under mounting pressure to call a royal commission into the Big Build corruption scandal. (ABC News)
Federal Liberal senator for Victoria James Paterson told the ABC this morning that any move to roll Ms Allan would be “too little, too late”.
“It sounds like the factional bosses have finally caught up with the sentiment of Victorians, which is they want this premier gone.
“A shift of horse at this very late minute to a new premier is not going to change anything fundamentally.”
Mr Paterson said Mr Carroll’s role in former premier Daniel Andrew’s government would not do him any favours.
“He participated in every decision this government has made over the last few years. He was even a cabinet minister under Daniel Andrews,” Mr Paterson said.
“I really think at this late stage it won’t change much as Victorians clearly want a change of government.”
Jacinta Allan took over the top job after former premier Daniel Andrews announced he was standing down in September 2023. (AAP Image: Daniel Pockett)
Federal Labor MP Kristy McBain said she thought Ms Allan had done a “really fantastic job in the time she’s been given”.
“I think it is really important at the moment, you know, we’re in a situation where we’ve got a rapidly evolving world out there, and we need strong and steady leadership in each state and territory across the country,” she said this morning.
“But ultimately, those questions are for the Victorian parliamentary party.”
Jacinta Allan was first elected to the Victorian Parliament in 1999, winning the seat of Bendigo and becoming the youngest female Victorian MP at the age of 25.
Her first ministry was the education services and youth affairs portfolio in 2002.