New Victoria Premier Ben Carroll to call construction royal commission as Allan resigns
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The news: Victoria’s new Labor Premier Ben Carroll, sworn in after his predecessor Jacinta Allan stepped down on Tuesday morning, said he will call for a royal commission into construction as his first act.
The context: Allan had been facing pressure to resign from within the Labor Party for weeks amid a collapse in public support, according to polling data, and a reluctance to call a royal commission investigation into reports that criminals and bikies had infiltrated the state government’s $109 billion infrastructure program.
Carroll was sworn in after being voted in during a chaotic caucus meeting.
In his first speech, Carroll said: “My first action as Premier will be to call a royal commission into the construction sector”.
He also announced plans to “immediately establish” a special prosecutor to “work in parallel” the commission.
Further details will be announced in “coming days”.
Carroll also sought to make it clear that he is distinct from his Labor Premier predecessors by stating: “Let me make one thing very clear. I am not Daniel Andrews, I am not Jacinta Allan.”
“I will do things differently because different times require a new approach,” he said.
He also committed to providing police with the appropriate powers and resources to “fight crime” and had already been in contact with the state’s police commissioner. Carroll said his government would “respect” the partnership with business even if Labor will always be the party of “working people”.
Carroll also stressed the importance of fighting of the Liberals and One Nation in the 2027 state election.
In Allan’s final speech, after 1,036 days as Premier, she highlighted her government’s achievements in relation to her government’s achievements regarding infrastructure delivery, introducing free public transport, toughening bail laws and making improvements to women’s healthcare.
What they said: “I am making this decision because it’s the right thing by the Labor Party, and by the Victorian people,” Allan said.
“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.”
The sources: The Age, The Conversation, ABC News
