General News
6 August, 2026
Opposition hits out at state’s new leader
NEW Victorian Premier Ben Carroll received a hostile welcome from south west MPs during his first day in the state’s top job.
Mr Carroll was sworn in as Victoria’s 50th Premier after embattled Premier Jacinta Allan announced her immediate resignation last Tuesday.
Members of the crossbench had lodged a motion of no confidence in government directly targeting Ms Allan, which has been a recurring theme, but the motion last Tuesday was redirected to target Mr Carroll on his first day.
The motion was a symbolic one, ultimately failing 51-27, but it didn’t stop Member for South West Coast Roma Britnell and Member for Lowan Emma Kealy from expressing their dissatisfaction with the Labor State Government.
Ms Britnell said switching leadership would not save Labor from a “voter tsunami” in November as the party was still the same one which elevated Ms Allan to leadership.
“We have a new Premier, who has been her deputy, who has accepted her leadership and who has accepted her crippling debt, her diminishing of basic services that Victorians desperately need, her overseeing of projects rife with corruption and the uncertain return on projects that no business case exists for and no budget has highlighted we can trust or recognise,” she said.
“All the Labor members are complicit, and they will all share the electoral pain, because they have forgotten Victorians and are too focused on themselves, which was all too evident today and has been evident for many, many months.
“We heard the new Premier Ben Carroll say it had to happen because the polls were indicating they were going to fail.
“Well, it is not about polls, it is about delivering for Victorians, and that is what Labor have forgotten.”
Mr Britnell said Mr Carroll’s track record as a former Minister for Roads and Road Safety would not be received well in the south west.
“This was the time a few years back when this government started their absolute mismanagement of the roads and the road infrastructure, and the same corrupt government put money into corruption rather than focusing on the roads that we needed in the regions,” she said.
“That minister at the time, who is now the Premier, oversaw roads maintenance cuts in the order of $240 million, and that is why regional Victoria is so bad and our roads are crumbling so significantly.
“Let us make sure we remember how Ben Carroll was happy to treat regional Victorians, particularly in south west Victoria.”
Ms Kealy also hit out at Mr Carroll, citing an awkward press conference moment in which Mr Carroll looked Ms Allan in the eyes and vowed to support her as he wanted to make his daughter proud.
“We started the day with a female Premier, one that we have heard so many times would be celebrated,” she said.
“In fact, the new Premier of the day actually looked her in the eye, let us never, ever forget that, and said; “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”.
“The Deputy Premier who was willing to say that in the media, in public, to all Victorians to show his integrity, to show his honesty and to show his commitment to the Premier is now the Premier of the day.
“It would seem that there has been a change of heart or perhaps a level of dishonesty one could assess from that, and certainly this is what Victorians are feeling today.
“We have got another Labor MP who is more in it for themselves and their own gains than they are for the Victorians who voted for them to be there in the first place.”
Ms Kealy said it was clear support for Labor had waned, particularly in rural areas which were not receiving fair treatment.
“Time and time again, I go out into my community, and I hear another story, which is horrific, about the implications of a government that has lost its way,” she said.
“They have lost the focus of the Victorians that elected them to be there, because they have been only interested in propelling their own career at the expense of everyday Victorians who are living through terrible conditions.”