By Rachel Eddie and Kieran Rooney
Nick Staikos is set to be promoted to cabinet as Premier Jacinta Allan considers a crowded field for the pivotal role of treasurer following the resignation of Tim Pallas.
Staikos, the member for Bentleigh since 2014 and the parliamentary secretary to Allan, is expected to join the ministry at a meeting of Labor MPs on Wednesday morning after his main competitor, Gary Maas, bowed out of the race.
Premier Jacinta Allan and Treasurer Tim Pallas on Monday.Credit: AAPIMAGE
Staikos was the only MP to nominate from the Left by the faction’s 3pm deadline.
On Monday, Pallas announced he would resign as treasurer and as the member for Werribee, paving the way for a byelection in the outer-west electorate, which Labor fears is ripe for a challenge from a strong independent and from the Liberal Party.
Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas is considered a strong contender to take over from Pallas in the treasury portfolio. Two government sources unable to speak publicly have said Allan was keen to bring a woman into the role.
Deputy Premier Ben Carroll and Assistant Treasurer Danny Pearson were also in contention. Consumer Affairs Minister Gabrielle Williams, Tourism Minister Steve Dimopoulos and Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes were also named as possibilities, though Symes’ position in the upper house makes that option less likely.
Bentleigh Labor MP Nick Staikos with his supporters in 2018.Credit: Paul Sakkal
“I’ll be making announcements on those arrangements in coming days,” Allan said on Tuesday.
Labor sources also said the premier wanted to avoid a larger reshuffle, but making any senior minister treasurer would create some movement among top portfolios.
Two Labor MPs, speaking anonymously to discuss internal matters, told The Age it was problematic to not have an obvious successor for such a pivotal role in the third term of government. Few people want it because the budget narrative is bad – but one MP said the budget outlook was more positive than that narrative.
The most recent budget update forecast Victoria’s net debt would hit $155.2 billion this financial year and $187.3 billion by June 2028.
In a probe of the state’s reports for the past financial year, the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office said there was no “clear plan for long-term fiscal management”.
Pallas, who spent 14 years as a minister and the last 10 as treasurer, on Monday defended Labor’s economic record by arguing Victoria was growing its way out of its debt profile while avoiding austerity.
Labor holds the historically safe seat of Werribee with a 10.9 per cent margin on a two-party preferred basis, after the Liberals achieved an 8.7 per cent swing in 2022.
Byelections can be challenging for incumbent governments, which have been punished by voters during the cost-of-living crisis.
Labor sources believe the party is well-positioned to overcome those difficulties in the western suburbs – where there is also a perception of voters being taken for granted – in time for the 2026 election.
But the byelection is viewed by some as a genuine risk. It will also come in the middle of campaigning for the federal election, due by May.
The Liberal Party, which is facing its own internal dramas after Opposition Leader John Pesutto lost a defamation battle with Moira Deeming, has vowed to take on Labor in its heartland.
Paul Hopper, who received 5.9 per cent of first preference votes in the 2022 election, confirmed he would contest again as an independent. He intends to establish a new West Party, which can’t be formally registered with the Victorian Electoral Commission in time.
The 51-year-old father of four, who was born in Werribee and runs a car dealership, believed the landscape had changed since the last state election. He said schools in the burgeoning west were built five years too late – and too small – pointing to education, the cost of living, health, safety, employment opportunities and roads as key issues for the region.
“There are really obvious gaping holes in how the west has been treated for a very, very long time,” Hopper told The Age on Tuesday.
A Labor source agreed there was a perception the west had been overlooked and expected an anti-government swing, but did not buy into the pessimistic outlook shared by others in the party.
Victorian Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill was floated as a possible Labor candidate, but he ruled that out on Tuesday afternoon.
Labor is not contesting another byelection in the inner-city seat of Prahran on February 8, following the resignation of former Greens co-deputy leader Sam Hibbins.
Pallas is yet to formally resign but said he would do so this week. Speaker Maree Edwards would need to issue the writs for the Werribee byelection by Friday if the Prahran and Werribee votes are to run on the same day.
That would leave a tight turnaround for a preselection and raises the prospect that Labor’s national executive would take over the candidate selection process for Werribee, which three Labor sources expected, though it would be unpopular among members.
The seat is likely to go to a candidate from the Socialist Left or possibly the Industrial Left sub-faction, which is part of the broader Right.
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