Jacinta Allan faces two separate — but similar — questions about her political honesty.
First, an Upper House inquiry has found the Premier should have been “more forthcoming” to a parliamentary hearing about the 2026 Commonwealth Games budget just four weeks before the event collapsed.
Second, the Premier has spent four days refusing to tell Victorians exactly why she booted a Labor MP and junior minister from her team.
Allan, in both cases, has been exposed as being at the very least economical with the truth and more concerned with political spin.
In the case of the games, Allan as the Commonwealth Games Delivery Minister appeared before the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee in June 2023.
Allan claimed “tremendous progress” was being made. But Victorians now know the deputy premier was already being briefed on budget problems engulfing the event. As Tuesday’s Upper House report stated:
“The Committee believes that ... particularly the Minister for the Commonwealth Games Delivery, should have been more forthcoming in providing updates on the challenges faced in delivering the Games within budget ... Indeed, the Minister for Commonwealth Games Delivery had been tasked with finding cost reductions and was due to report back to Cabinet that month.”
Moving back to the second question; Victorians, particularly the voters of South Barwon, deserve to know the specifics of allegations against the Labor MP Darren Cheeseman.
They were serious enough for Allan to strip him of his junior ministry in an academy award winning “taking out the trash” episode last Friday evening. But not serious enough to kick him from the ALP’s caucus.
Four days later, a new mystery allegation has emerged that is serious enough to boot him from caucus. All we know for sure is that he had repeatedly behaved in an inappropriately way to staff. Jacinta Allan’s been caught treating Victorians with contempt. This is nothing short of outrageous.
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