Jacinta Allan expected to face leadership challenge after Victorian Labor factions meet

Just four months out from the Victorian election, factional conveners from Labor’s left and right met on Sunday night to discuss whether premier Jacinta Allan still had the support of a majority of the caucus. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP View image in fullscreen Just four months out from the Victorian election, factional conveners from Labor’s left and right met on Sunday night to discuss whether premier Jacinta Allan still had the support of a majority of the caucus. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP Jacinta Allan expected to face leadership challenge after Victorian Labor factions meet Minister says premier ‘not going anywhere’ and describes leaking of Sunday-night meeting as attempt to build momentum for spill Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Victorian Labor premier, Jacinta Allan, is expected to face a leadership challenge when state parliament resumes this week, though supporters insist she is “not going anywhere”. Just four months out from a state election, factional conveners from Labor’s left and right met on Sunday night to discuss whether Allan still had the support of a majority of the caucus. It is understood the group agreed she did not. But the pathway to a challenge remains unclear, as Allan’s most likely opponent – the deputy premier, Ben Carroll – has indicated to colleagues he would only run for the leadership if the position were vacant. One option being floated by the factions on Sunday was for a group of ministers to approach Allan on Monday before a planned cabinet meeting to inform her she had lost the support of her colleagues. It was their hope that she would stand down before a vote during Tuesday’s caucus meeting, the first day of parliament after the winter break. But if Allan contested a leadership ballot, the entire Victorian Labor membership would also get a vote in a weeks-long process, thanks to rule changes introduced after the instability of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd era. The rules have been untested. One minister close to Allan maintained she was “not going anywhere” and described the leaking of the meeting as an attempt to build momentum for a spill. Another said not all parliamentarians within the left faction were consulted before the meeting and that there was “no uniform position” within the grouping. “There is no vacancy, no challenger and no consolidated position within the left,” the minister said. “It’s just one big smoke machine.” The attorney general, Sonya Kilkenny, a key supporter of the premier, said leadership speculation was “idle gossip” earlier on Sunday. “She has my full support, and this idle gossip doesn’t help Victorians,” Kilkenny said. “It is only hurting Victorians at a time when Victorians need us all to be focused on them, and that is exactly what Jacinta Allan and our Labor government, our team, is doing.” Allan became premier after the resignation of Daniel Andrews in September 2023. Momentum had been building for a leadership spill before parliament rose for a winter break in June due to poor polling and Allan’s weak personal approval ratings, rising support for One Nation and concerns about her response to organised crime infiltrating the state’s Big Build, via the construction union. Allan, who previously served as the minister for transport infrastructure overseeing the Big Build, has rejected growing calls for a royal commission. But Carroll ruled out a challenge at the time, at an awkward press conference where he looked Allan in the eye and declared he would not challenge her for the leadership. At the same 15 June press conference, he told reporters: “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.” It is understood Carroll, if elected leader, would immediately call for a royal commission, work to resolve the pay dispute between the state government and public school teachers, and attempt to improve the party’s economic credentials and standing with the business community. Explore more on these topics Victorian politics Jacinta Allan Victoria Labor party news Share Reuse this content