Ben Carroll Sworn In as Victoria's New Premier Following Jacinta Allan's Resignation

Ben Carroll has been sworn in as the new premier of Victoria after Jacinta Allan resigned from the position just four months before a state election. Gabrielle Williams has been appointed as the deputy premier. Upon taking office, Carroll announced that his first action will be to call a royal commission into the construction sector and establish a special prosecutor to work alongside it, stating that he intends to do things differently than his predecessors.

The leadership change follows a period of internal party tension and poor polling. Sources indicate that Allan's weak personal approval ratings and rising support for One Nation contributed to the push for new leadership. Additionally, allegations of wrongdoing regarding the "Big Build" project—which occurred while Allan was transport infrastructure minister—created friction among MPs; while Allan rejected calls for a royal commission into the matter, Carroll is understood to be in favor of one.

Although Allan initially vowed to contest a leadership ballot and believed she would have won, she ultimately decided to step aside to avoid a lengthy balloting process that could take up to six weeks. During the caucus meeting, frontbencher Sonya Kilkenny briefly emerged as a surprise rival before Carroll was unanimously endorsed by the state parliamentary Labor party.

Carroll, the member for Niddrie since 2012 and a former solicitor, previously served as education minister. His tenure in that role saw Victoria achieve its best-ever Naplan results, though it was also marked by errors in VCE exams and a "cheat sheet" bungle that led to the sacking of the curriculum authority's board. Carroll has indicated he believes he can better resolve ongoing pay disputes with public school teachers and improve the party's economic credentials ahead of the upcoming election.