Jacinta Allan to face fresh Commonwealth Games scrutiny, will announce reshuffle

New Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan is set to announce a reshuffle on Monday and will face renewed heat over her ministerial past.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan during a tour of the newly built Pakenham train station will face questioning over project blowouts.

New Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan will face renewed scrutiny over the Commonwealth Games and major projects blowouts in the next week as both sides of politics prepare to unveil frontbench reshuffles.

Ms Allan will have her first question time as Premier on Tuesday and on October 9 the parliamentary inquiry into the Commonwealth Games debacle will have its first public hearing.

She is due to swear in her new cabinet on Monday morning.

Ms Allan was the minister responsible for delivering the Games and her role in the cancelled 2026 event will be heavily scrutinised by the opposition.

Sources also said her key role in delivering the state’s major projects agenda will be scrutinised, amid multibillion-dollar budget blowouts.

Both sides of politics are set to announce frontbench reshuffles this week, with Ms Allan poised to elevate Eltham MP Vicki Ward but retain Treasurer Tim Pallas in his current portfolio.

Liberal leader John Pesutto is expected to announce a reshuffle after the resignation of education spokesman Matthew Bach.

Liberal sources said the opposition believed Ms Allan was vulnerable on her record as a minister, particularly on budget blowouts and the Commonwealth Games.

“She has a poor track record with money. That is obvious,” a Liberal source said.

Ms Allan has been low profile since being elected last week to the leadership. She defended Labor’s management of the major projects agenda after winning the leadership, despite a factional revolt, because she always had the numbers for the job.

“No one has presided over a program this big that is transforming our transport network,” Ms Allan told the ABC last week.

“It’s about making sure the investment is needed to get the job done. These projects have been delivered in a way that we need to focus on the outcome.”

Ms Allan, and people supporting her, have been discussing the best ways for her to counter the tired nature of the government.

Previous premier Daniel Andrews’s resignation has given the government the chance to refresh but Ms Allan is seen as having been heavily involved in some of its worst financial excesses.

The government was severely embarrassed when it failed to deliver the Commonwealth Games, a decision that has cost taxpayers several hundred million dollars.

The Labor Party is also privately discussing ways to improve Ms Allan’s relationships internally and how to better deliver democracy to the organisation after Mr Andrews’s resignation.