Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan refused to resign on Monday after a cross-faction delegation of Labor MPs told her she had lost the support of a majority of the parliamentary caucus. Deputy Premier Ben Carroll confirmed later the same day that he would stand against her.
Allan wrote to Victorian Labor state secretary Steve Staikos on Monday morning, asking him to prepare for a ballot. Caucus is due to meet on Tuesday morning, where a spill motion is expected.
“It is clear that the Premier has lost the majority of our Caucus," Carroll said in confirming his candidacy. "This decision is not easy, but the stakes at the upcoming election are simply too high." Carroll said in June that he was not seeking the leadership.”
What happens after Tuesday is set by the party's rules. Where more than one candidate nominates, Victorian Labor requires a ballot of both the parliamentary caucus and the party's rank-and-file members, a process that runs for a minimum of 29 days. A cabinet minister who is not a candidate would hold the premiership as caretaker until the result is declared. The state election is on 28 November, 124 days away.
Factional conveners met on Sunday night and agreed Allan no longer had majority support. Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny had dismissed the speculation that morning. "She has my full support, and this idle gossip doesn't help Victorians," Kilkenny said.
The move against Allan follows polling that has both major parties short of the numbers to govern. A Resolve Strategic survey of 1,000 Victorians published by The Age this month put Labor's primary vote at 27 per cent, the Coalition on 27, One Nation on 22 and the Greens on 12. Asked who they preferred as premier, 43 per cent named Opposition Leader Jess Wilson and 24 per cent named Allan.
A separate seat-level model by RedBridge Group, commissioned by Victorian Trades Hall from a sample of 6,500, put One Nation ahead of both major parties on 27 per cent, with Labor and the Coalition on 26 each. Its median projection gave the Coalition 39 seats, Labor 35, One Nation 12 and the Greens 2. There are 88 seats in the Legislative Assembly and 45 forms a majority.
Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams has been named in reports as a candidate for the deputy leadership. No nomination has been confirmed.
Allan became premier in September 2023 when Daniel Andrews resigned, and has not led Labor to an election. Caucus meets in Melbourne on Tuesday morning.
