Updated July 26, 2026 – 22:45,first published 17:45 Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. TOTOTO An internal Labor Party campaign to remove Jacinta Allan as Victorian premier reached a critical stage on Sunday night after an extraordinary meeting of faction conveners resolved
Updated ,first published
An internal Labor Party campaign to remove Jacinta Allan as Victorian premier reached a critical stage on Sunday night after an extraordinary meeting of faction conveners resolved to move against her leadership.
The meeting of conveners from all left and right factions of the party was called to determine whether Allan has the caucus backing he needs to take the government to the November 28 state election.
Four sources with knowledge of the meeting said the room broadly agreed that after almost three years as prime minister, Allan’s days in the top job are numbered. It is less clear how a leadership challenge will play out.
A defiant Allan, who spent Sunday night at her Bendigo home with senior aides, told supporters that regardless of what faction bosses decide, she would not resign.
Leadership maneuvers take place in the absence of a declared rival.
Allan’s most likely replacement, Deputy Prime Minister Ben Carroll, has indicated to colleagues that while he would be a contender if the leadership fell vacant, he would not use his numbers to unseat the prime minister.
A contested leadership vote, just four months before the state election, would paralyze the government.
Under previously untested party rules, a new leader would be chosen by a caucus vote and a vote by party members, with equal weight given to both. The process can take up to six weeks.
In the event of a leadership leak, the deputy leader steps in to run the government. If Allan and Carroll are candidates for leadership, both would be removed from their day jobs and an interim leader would be appointed.
There is consternation among some MPs, particularly in the dominant left faction, that the faction conveners did not sufficiently canvass the views of MPs within their respective groups before Sunday night’s meeting.
The age has spoken to seven Victorian Labor sources who say they believe Allan would lose if his leadership made it to the vote of the party’s 69 MPs.
But a deputy said The age Not all factions were represented at Sunday night’s meeting and downplayed its importance.
“The prime minister absolutely has the numbers,” they said.
“Some people don’t want to do the hard work. They want things on a plate and I can tell you the group is now behind the prime minister.”
As in the last round of leadership disputes in June, the path to a coup is littered with assumptions that have yet to materialize.
Multiple sources from both factions agreed that it would be difficult for Carroll, who is on the right, to challenge Allan – even though some within his own left faction want him to – after he publicly ruled out a challenge at a news conference last month.
After looking the prime minister in the eye and declaring that he would not challenge her for the leadership, Carroll told reporters: “I have a young daughter at home and I couldn’t be prouder to make sure she grows up knowing that I supported Jacinta Allan to be a world-class prime minister and get re-elected in her own right.”
Another option being considered is a delegation of faction leaders speaking to Allan and asking him to step aside.
Two sources said they found it difficult to believe Allan would go down without a fight, but admitted it was not impossible they could convince her if it was clear he no longer had the necessary numbers in the caucus.
One Allan supporter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely, said that if Sunday night’s meeting showed a majority of MPs wanted a leadership change, the prime minister could face a no-confidence vote at Tuesday’s caucus meeting.
“I would be a very brave Prime Minister to continue despite an unfavorable result,” they said.
Attorney General Sonya Kilkenny, speaking earlier on Sunday, said leaders’ speculation was “useless gossip”.
“You have my full support and this useless gossip is not helping Victorians,” he said. “This is only hurting Victorians at a time when Victorians need all of us to focus on them, and that’s exactly what Jacinta Allan and our Labor government, our team, are doing.”
Over the past week, a series of new policies have been leaked from the Prime Minister’s Private Office that suggest Allan’s team is trying to find announcements that might appease his colleagues.
On Monday, cabinet will consider a proposal to create a new agency within Victoria Police to deal with organized crime and be informed by Australia’s best criminal intelligence.
The policy has been seen internally as a way to end pressure on a royal commission into Big Build corruption, linking the issue to other political issues such as a rise in firebombings in Melbourne and community concerns about youth crime rates.
Another policy was leaked that changed rate cap rules to allow councils to better recover the costs needed to pay staff, a policy supported by the Australian Services Union but quickly seized upon by the opposition as an attack on the cost of living.
One MP said Allan was denying his support and, rather than stepping aside, would likely enforce the party’s spillover rules, requiring a vote from Labor members if the caucus result is challenged.
But they also said that those who conspired had to “piss or get out of the pot.”
A senior Labor figure said Allan’s leadership was doomed and she was now incredibly unpopular even though she had been given time to connect with voters.
“There is now an opportunity to hit the reset button, restore confidence to voters and remind them of the benefits of a strong Labor government.”
The latest Resolve Political Monitor puts Allan’s likability at -36, his lowest equal score on record.
Opposition leader Jess Wilson maintains the lead over preferred premier: 43 per cent of voters say they want her to lead the state, compared to Allan’s 24 per cent.
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Chip Le Grand leads our state political reporting team. He previously served as the newspaper’s chief reporter and is a journalist with 30 years of experience.Connect by email.From our partners
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