Election 2025: Anthony Albanese keeps unpopular Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan at arm’s length

Anthony Albanese has distanced himself from unpopular Labor Premier Jacinta Allan and her government’s management of Victoria’s finances while standing next to her, saying her budget was her issue.

Anthony Albanese at a press conference with Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan on Monday. Picture: Jason Edwards / NewsWire

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Anthony Albanese has distanced himself from unpopular Labor Premier Jacinta Allan and her government’s management of Victoria’s finances while standing next to her, saying her budget was her issue.

Victoria under Labor has the lowest S&P credit rating of any jurisdiction in the country, with its net debt as a share of the state’s economy projected to reach 25.1 per cent next financial year, its highest level in decades. Labor’s federal MPs worry the Allan government could damage their chances in the critical state despite a pre-election improvement for the Prime Minister in the polls.

Mr Albanese on Monday refused to answer if Ms Allan was running a responsible budget, ­despite appearing alongside her for the first time in this election campaign.

“I’m responsible for my budget,” Mr Albanese said while campaigning in the Labor seat of Fraser in Melbourne’s outer west.

“I’m happy to answer questions about my budget. The Premier’s right here,” he said, gesturing to Ms Allan. “If you want to ask her a question about Victoria, I’m happy for her to do that.”

Victoria’s debt blew out during the height of the Covid pandemic and has not recovered. While state government debt relative to the size of the Victorian economy measured about 5 per cent in the 2010s, it has since climbed sharply and is not projected to fall soon. Mr Albanese was also challenged on whether he was “concerned” that the unpopular state government could be a drag on federal Labor’s electoral chances in the state where the Coalition is vying to win several Labor-held seats, including Aston, Macnamara, McEwen and Chisholm.

“One of the issues that Victoria has had to deal with has been done by successive commonwealth governments,” Mr Albanese said. “That’s why when Victoria was investing in projects like Melbourne Metro, they lost their partners in the commonwealth. We’ll partner with state and territory governments right around the country.”

The Victorian Labor brand is struggling – the government was given a wake-up call in the Werribee by-election in February earlier this year where the Labor candidate saw a 16.5 percentage point drop in the primary vote. Labor held onto the electorate with a 0.8-percentage-point two-party-preferred margin.

Ms Allan on Monday said she would “leave the commentary to others”. “What Victorians should be focused on, and what I know Victorians are focused on, is a choice – a choice between a Prime Minister and a Labor government that’s backing Medicare, that’s backing the infrastructure projects our city and state needs and wants, as opposed to a Dutton government and a Liberal offering that is all about cuts,” she said.

Victorian Liberal leader Brad Battin predicted Mr Albanese would not again appear with Ms Allan for the remainder of the campaign.

Independent economist Saul Eslake said the troubled state of Victoria’s finances threatened to replicate the results of the 1990 federal election, where Labor lost eight seats in the state but still held on to government.

“Voters in Victoria vented their anger at the performance of the Cain government by voting against the federal Labor government,” Mr Eslake said. “Victoria is now in a worse position than it was in the early 1990.

“The next Victorian election isn’t until November 2026 so there’s a fair way to go until the electorate can express their anger at the government that caused it. So instead, [Victorian Labor’s] federal counterparts serve as a proxy.”