Family First says Victorian Labor change would not alter government record
Victorian Labor’s leadership fight escalated on Monday, 28 July 2028, when Deputy Premier Ben Carroll formally declared his intention to challenge Jacinta Allan for the leadership.
Family First used the move to argue that a change at the top would not alter the government’s record. The party pointed to Carroll’s role as Deputy Premier since October 2023 and his place in Cabinet for every major Allan government decision.
According to Family First, the challenge came only six weeks after Carroll publicly ruled out a leadership bid. At the time, he told reporters he could “look you in the eye” and promise his own daughter he had backed Allan to be re-elected in her own right.
By Monday afternoon, photos of Carroll and Allan had been removed from his social media. Family First cast that change as a sign of how quickly the leadership contest had turned.
Ben Carroll challenge
Jane Foreman, Family First’s lead voice in the statement issued on 28 July 2028, argued that Carroll’s move raised immediate questions about trust. “This is lipstick on a pig,” Foreman said. “Six weeks ago Ben Carroll looked Jacinta Allan in the eye and promised he’d never challenge her. Now he’s knifing her for the top job. If his word didn’t last six weeks, why would anyone believe a single promise he makes about fixing Labor’s mess?”
Foreman argued that a Carroll victory would not change the structure around him. She said he would inherit the same Cabinet, the same factional bosses and the same unanswered questions that dogged Allan.
Family First also linked Carroll to the state’s major infrastructure problems. The party said he sat in the Cabinet room for every Big Build blowout and for every decision that has angered Victorian voters.
Meanwhile, the statement described the likely result inside Labor as an internal reshuffle rather than a policy break. Family First argued that Victorians were being offered a new face, not a new government, ahead of the November election.
“Victorians are being offered a new face, but not one Labor MP is promising a new government,” Foreman said. “Mr Carroll was in the Cabinet room for every Big Build blowout and every decision Victorians are angry about. You can change the person standing at the podium, but you can’t hide the rot underneath. This is a factional fix, not a fix for families.”
Family First said the only genuine check on an Allan-led or Carroll-led government would be a strong Legislative Council. The party called for upper house members who would press the government on Big Build costs, corruption claims and the use of taxpayers’ money.
As a result, Family First framed the leadership fight as part of the choice voters will make at the November election. Its statement argued that changing the name on the Premier’s door would not change the record of the government now in office.
Related Articles
Related: Data centres face new renewable
