Allan rejects leadership speculation as ‘scallywag gossip’ as MPs publicly back leader

Premier Jacinta Allan has brushed aside renewed speculation about her leadership despite influential figures from Labor’s right and left factions agitating for someone else to take the party to this year’s state election.

When questioned on Thursday morning about the risk of her losing her job before the November poll, the premier described speculative reports of a possible challenge as “anonymous gossip”.

“I’m focused on Victorians,” she said. “Not anonymous gossip that could be from a few scallywags out there who might need a bit of a cuddle.

“I’ve got great support from my strong and united team.”

Labor sources, speaking anonymously to detail internal deliberations, say the push for a leadership change is being driven by the same factional powerbrokers who tried but failed to convince the state parliamentary caucus to move against Allan a year ago, when it was feared her unpopularity would prompt voters to abandon the party at the 2025 federal election.

Although Victoria’s better-than-expected return for Labor in that election quietened Allan’s detractors for a while, recent polls commissioned by the party and media outlets, including the Resolve Political Monitor published by this masthead, indicate Allan’s unpopularity among voters remains a drag on the party’s re-election prospects.

Backroom discussions have taken place in recent weeks about whether fresh leadership is needed to give Labor a fighting chance at securing an historic fourth consecutive term. One factional chief offered the view that anyone other than Allan would lead the party to a better result.

However, despite deepening concerns among Allan’s parliamentary colleagues about her response to this masthead’s revelations of systemic corruption on the government’s Big Build construction sites and apparent inability to connect with voters, there appears to be little support within the caucus for a spill.

Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams, the dominant left faction’s most likely candidate in any leadership challenge, said she was not actively seeking the support of colleagues. She said she believed Deputy Premier Ben Carroll, the right faction’s leader-in-waiting, was similarly not doing the numbers.

“It’s idle gossip and we pay no attention to it,” Williams said. “My support is purely behind the premier and the wealth of experience and expertise that she brings to her role.

“I’m not aware of any discussions that have taken place. None whatsoever.”

Carroll also denied he was counting the numbers.

“I’ve got the job that I also wanted. Minister for education is the best job,” he said.

“Every day I get to get out of bed and try and make young lives better. There’s no more important role than being the minister for education.”

Carroll said Allan would lead the party to the election in November.

“The premier is doing an outstanding job and working very hard. We’re all working hard to make sure that our united team defeats the Liberal opposition, and I’m focused on making sure I get the best deal for our teachers,” he said.

Consumer Affairs Minister Nick Staikos said no one had approached him to canvas a change of leader. “The party is united behind Premier Jacinta Allan and she will be leading us to the election,” he said.

Frontbencher Steve Dimopoulos rejected leadership speculation as “absolutely ridiculous”, while Treasurer Jaclyn Symes also backed Allan to keep leading the party.

“I’m a senior member of this government, I’ll be your source,” Symes said. “I’m right behind Jacinta Allan.

“This isn’t a popularity contest. This is about who is best for the job, and that’s Jacinta Allan.”

Mordialloc MP Tim Richardson insisted the government remained a “harmonious and connected team” and noted that any leadership spill, under party rules adopted a decade ago, would also require a vote among party members.

“Last time I checked, it’s the Liberal Party that has more chaos and more division and more drama than a [Married At First Sight] dinner party,” he said.

Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio labelled the reports of leadership tensions manufactured gossip.

“Jacinta Allan is our leader, and she will lead us to the next election. And we aim to win, and we aim to win with Jacinta Allan as our premier,” she said.

Labor MPs Sarah Connolly, Nathan Lambert and Melissa Horne also publicly offered their support for the premier.

An MP from the right faction, speaking confidentially to discuss internal party matters, said his colleagues needed to hold their nerve against an inherently unstable opposition.

“We just have to keep the show on the road,” the MP said. “Change is death.”

Allan became Victorian premier in September 2023 after Daniel Andrews abruptly quit less than a year after his re-election. A senior figure from the right faction on Thursday said the transaction cost of changing the leadership for a second time this term would likely be greater than the benefit.

“You are signalling to the community you have no confidence in your own premier and not up to being in government,” the senior figure said.

“You are really saving the furniture.”

There are MPs from both sides of the factional divide who believe the government has already reached the point of needing to mitigate an almost certain election loss and saving what seats it can.

Within the party’s Docklands headquarters, there is still a cautious optimism that, as bleak as the polling looks, Labor still has a path to victory. Party HQ on Wednesday night distanced itself from claims that recent internal polling showed Labor was heading for a loss of up to 20 seats.

One MP, also speaking anonymously, said leadership speculation had become a recurring feature of parliamentary sitting weeks and would almost certainly continue.

“There are a minority seeking change,” the MP said. “I’m sure we’ll have the same discussion next sitting week.”

Under the ALP’s national party rules adopted in 2013 in response to the instability of the Rudd and Gillard federal governments, a leadership challenge must be decided by a vote of party members and a caucus ballot, with an even weight given to each.

The rules require the support of more than 60 per cent of caucus to replace a sitting prime minister, but it is not clear whether this also applies to state premiers. The current rules have never been tested in Victoria, which last had a Labor leadership spill in 1999.

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