Victorian Premier Dismisses Leadership Rumours as ‘Scallywag’ Gossip

Leadership Speculation and Internal Divisions in Victorian Labor

Jacinta Allan has dismissed the growing speculation about her leadership as “scallywag” gossip, as senior members of the Victorian Labor Party continue to express their support for her. Despite this, there are increasing concerns within the party that her low popularity could jeopardize their chances of winning the state election in November.

Party leaders are becoming more anxious about the premier’s declining public favor and have been discussing potential challenges ahead of the upcoming election. According to reports from the ABC, multiple Labor figures, including MPs, have confirmed that preliminary conversations about an alternative path have taken place. However, they emphasized that these discussions were not focused on gauging support for a full challenge.

No one has indicated that anyone is actively counting votes to determine if a challenge should happen. While a move against Ms Allan is not expected in the immediate future, there is a division among Labor sources regarding whether a challenge is inevitable or unlikely.

State Labor MPs, both publicly and privately, remain largely supportive of Ms Allan despite growing frustrations with her performance, negative opinion polling, and policy priorities. The most commonly mentioned contenders for her position are Deputy Premier Ben Carroll, from the party’s right faction, and Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams, from the left. Both have denied any intention to challenge her leadership.

“My support is fully behind the premier. She’s an exceptional leader, someone who brings enormous experience to her role,” Ms Williams said. Mr Carroll added, “I couldn’t be more proud to be the deputy premier and education minister.”

Ms Allan responded to stories quoting unnamed Labor figures in The Australian and the Herald Sun about a potential challenge by calling it “anonymous gossip.” She remarked, “There’s a few, a couple, handful of scallywags there. They might need a bit of a cuddle and we’ll provide support for colleagues.”

Mixed Views on the Benefit of a Spill

The risk for Ms Allan is that ongoing speculation about her leadership could become self-fulfilling, with some supporters fearing that persistent destabilization will make her leadership untenable. Others believe a challenge may become inevitable if poor polling continues.

Those who think a change would benefit the party argue that a new leader could allow Labor to reset and build a stronger campaign against opposition leader Jess Wilson, whom they believe is still relatively unknown to voters. With an election less than nine months away, Labor would need to act quickly if they wanted to oust the premier.

If Ms Allan decided to fight the challenge rather than resign, the party could be bogged down in a lengthy process. Some caution against any challenge, stating that Ms Allan still enjoys the backing of the caucus and that instability sends a message to voters that the government is not focused.

Rumblings Dismissed as ‘Idle Gossip’

On Thursday morning, Labor ministers presented a united front at Victorian Parliament, dismissing the speculation as “idle gossip.” Treasurer Jaclyn Symes said, “I’m right behind Jacinta Allan. The caucus is right behind Jacinta Allan.”

During an interview on ABC Statewide Drive, Police Minister Anthony Carbines also denied there were plans to topple Ms Allan as leader. He stated that Labor was preparing for a tough election and believed the party could win under her leadership. “She has the full support of both myself and my colleagues,” he said.

Local Government Minister Nick Staikos claimed no one within the party had approached him to discuss a change in leadership. “This is nothing more than gossip and innuendo,” he said.

Mordialloc MP Tim Richardson expressed that while Labor would “smash it” during the November election, he was unsurprised by the leadership speculation surrounding Ms Williams and Mr Carroll. “Those two are absolutely wonderful leaders,” he said.

There has not been a formal challenge against a Labor leader in Victoria since 1999, when Steve Bracks rolled John Brumby as opposition leader ahead of that year’s state election.