Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan has resigned after abandoning a last-ditch fight for her leadership, despite insisting she believed she could defeat challenger Ben Carroll in a party ballot just four months before the state election.
The dramatic backflip came just hours after Allan rejected calls to quit from a cross-factional delegation of six ministers and other senior MPs, who told her she had lost the support of a majority of the Labor caucus.
A leadership spill motion had been expected to go before caucus on Tuesday morning, but Allan’s resignation has cleared the way for Deputy Premier Ben Carroll to become Labor leader and Victoria’s next premier.
The move ends weeks of speculation over Allan’s future and follows an earlier leadership scare she survived in June.
‘My whole life, mum taught me to never give up. Dad, he always taught me to do the right thing,’ Allan said, announcing her resignation on Tuesday.
‘Recently, I have reflected on how deeply these two lessons have shaped me. And on the fact they don’t always point in the same direction.
‘After speaking with my colleagues overnight, I have made the difficult decision to step aside as leader of the Victorian state Parliamentary Labor Party, and as Premier of Victoria.
‘I will shortly chair a caucus meeting to elect a new leader. Should Ben Carroll emerge as our next Labor leader and Labor Premier, he will have my congratulations and unqualified support.
Victoria’s Premier Jacinta Allan will resign after weeks of speculation over her future exploded into a full-blown leadership crisis
Ben Carroll could become Victoria’s next premier
‘I am making this decision because it’s the right thing by the Labor Party, and by the Victorian people.
‘I was prepared to put my record and my plan to a ballot of members – I believe I would have won. But doing so this close to an election takes up valuable resources, including the most precious of one – time.
‘I step down after 1,036 days in this role. Not one of them wasted, not one of them easy. Let’s be honest – this gig has been tough.
‘But let’s be clear – the average working family has it tougher. They’re the ones managing interest rate rises. They’re the ones living in a housing crisis, and facing economic change that no-one can predict.
‘They’re the people I always put first. I got into politics to fight for them. And whatever I do next, I will still be fighting for them.’
Allan made a shout out to Andrews during her resignation speech.
‘Thankyou to Daniel Andrews, who taught us to put people first.
‘Now, a bit of a message to my kids – mum will be home more to tell you to get off your computers, go and clean your room, I will now also be there for all your drama performances and all of our family holidays without having to leave early. My greatest joy is spending time with you.’
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and husband Yorick Piper
Labor has been in power in Victoria since former premier Andrews led the ALP to victory in 2014.
But Allan has faced mounting pressure in recent months following revelations of corruption on Big Build projects.
She has refused to call a royal commission into the sector after corruption-busting lawyer Geoffrey Watson estimated it had cost the state $15 billion.
Persistent crime and a failure to reach a pay deal with public school teachers have also dogged the government.
Polls have consistently shown the Coalition and One Nation surging in Victoria.
A News Corp poll at the weekend found Victorian Labor had slumped well behind the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis, with the Opposition claiming 56 per cent to Labor’s 44.
Labor’s primary vote was also behind that of One Nation’s. Support for Labor in Victoria was at 23 per cent, while the Coalition was at 29 per cent and One Nation at 24 per cent.
The Resolve Political Monitor – another poll published earlier in July – found 43 per cent of Victorians wanted Opposition Leader Jess Wilson to lead the state, ahead of 24 per cent for Allan.
There’s no guarantee Carroll can lead Labor to a record fourth-straight election victory if he were to become premier, Redbridge pollster and former Liberal strategist Tony Barry said.
A significant cabinet reshuffle and policy overhaul would be needed to differentiate Carroll’s politics from Allan’s and subsequently remedy the drop in voter support for Labor incurred under her leadership, Barry said.
‘There’s going to have be changes around the Suburban Rail Loop and other things where he differentiates himself from Jacinta Allan,’ he said.
‘Otherwise he’s going to be completely open to the attack of same horse, different jockey.
‘In that situation, he might make a bad situation even worse.’
