‘Real action’ Premier is facing questions about her continued leadership

Jacinta Allan has promised voters ‘real action’ and declared she’s still the right person to lead Labor to Victoria’s next state election.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan at a transport announcement on the morning after the by-elections. Picture: NewsWire/Valeriu Campan

Jacinta Allan wants everyone to know that as leader she takes full responsibility for the political carnage in Werribee, hears the anger of voters loud and clear and says her government is committed to working harder to do better.

The Premier picked her lines straight from the political self-help playbook entitled “how to look contrite yet determined after a by-election thumping” and delivered them earnestly.

But Allan’s problem is this; while she’s intent on correcting course and renewing her political vows with the party’s estranged heartland, some in Labor fear voters have already made up their minds.

As former Labor strategist and campaign mastermind Kos Samaras tweeted on Sunday; “Not a red wall anymore … more like a red barb wire fence.”

Samaras has been warning for some time that Labor’s outer-suburban base – exactly like voters in Werribee – are finally ready to punish the party they believe has abandoned them.

One of the main challenges for Allan is reinventing herself and her government after a decade in office. To pull this off, she has to convince voters she’s best placed to fix their problems.

But this strategy relies on the same voters who whacked Labor on Saturday night and forgets that their problems – street crime, revolving door bail laws, cost of living and neglected local services – all emerged under Labor and Allan’s rule.

Jacinta Allan and Labor candidate John Lister greet a voter at a Werribee polling booth on Saturday. Picture: Ian Currie

Allan’s challenge is made even more difficult because she is so recognisable as one of Daniel Andrews’ key ministers. Remember she was deputy premier, minister for not hosting the Commonwealth Games and responsible for presiding over the financial disaster that is the Big Build.

Allan stressed that most Werribee voters who turned their backs on Labor didn’t embrace the Liberal Party, and parked themselves with independents. That does present Brad Battin with some challenges, but when you consider the Liberals won Prahran, and may yet win Werribee, there’s no doubt Battin had a much better weekend than Allan.

And this leads to a very important question some in Labor were quietly asking in the wake of the Werribee backlash that has left the once safe seat hanging by a thread, 50.55-49.45 per cent in Labor’s favour.

Is Jacinta Allan the best person to lead Labor to the November 2026 election?

Allan, of course, says she is:

“I will work hard and fight hard for working people and families every single day who need a Labor government who is listening to them and that’s certainly what we’ve been doing in Werribee, for example, speaking to the community of Werribee, but more importantly, listening and responding with real action.”

Real action? So what’s the Premier been doing in the 18 months since she replaced Andrews?

After Saturday, Allan is not guaranteed she’ll get the chance to lead Labor’s bid for a fourth straight term.

Among those in Labor who will be closely monitoring not just the Premier’s performance but how voters are responding will be her deputy, Ben Carroll.

Carroll is a fresh face having not been a key member of the Andrews team. He’s ambitious and defied Andrews to force his way into the deputy leadership. And he definitely won’t want to take over Labor as opposition leader.