Under Jacinta Allan’s ‘fresh start’ logic, she should have quit last week

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and Police Minister Anthony Carbines give a media conference in Melbourne. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui/NewsWire

If Jacinta Allan applied her bankrupt logic more broadly than just Shane Patton, she would have resigned after Werribee “overwhelmingly” voted for a “fresh start” at last week’s by-election.

But, of course, Allan hung on as Premier, claiming she “heard” voters “loud and clear” and would “do more” in the wake of Labor’s primary vote crashing by around 16 per cent, leaving her government clinging to a once heartland seat by a few hundred votes.

But in Allan’s world, if you’re the chief commissioner and the people – in this case rank and file police officers – vote overwhelmingly against you, there’s no coming back. Nup. You’re under the first tram that passes by. It is an outrageous double standard that says so much about the political character of a leader caught in a quagmire of her – and her predecessor, Daniel Andrews’ – own making.

But there she stood on Monday, both earnestly and shamelessly, on one hand proclaiming the greatest respect for Patton and the office of chief commissioner and with the other saying last week’s vote of no confidence in the top cop left her no option.

“Those discussions were held following the overwhelming – the overwhelming – vote of Victoria Police members that simply couldn’t be ignored,” Allan told a press conference more than two days after news broke that she would not renew Patton’s contract as top cop.

“It couldn’t be ignored and it was clear that Victoria Police members were looking for a fresh start and that was a message heard very clearly.”

Former Victoria Police chief commissioner Shane Patton. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

The Premier’s performance was both breathtaking and ruthless. In the eyes of seasoned observers of the toxic politics that plague the state’s police force, Allan’s actions were motivated more about fixing her own problems rather than the grievances of about 13,000 (about 70 per cent) cops who gave Patton the thumbs down.

Allan’s actions were not so much about giving police officers a fresh start, but about giving her leadership and government a fresh start in law and order, an area that threatens Labor’s chances at the 2026 election.

Victoria is in the grip of a youth crime wave, fuelled by Labor’s revolving door bail laws, and voters, if Werribee is any guide, are blaming Labor.

Patton’s job is to enforce the laws of the state. So it’s important to remember it’s Labor’s bail laws, not Patton’s, that have become a tragic joke on Allan’s watch. Similarly, Patton has been locked in a bitter two-year pay fight with officers that has seen members graffiti their own cop cars with slogans in support of that claim. Not a good look for the government.

Patton can only spend the money the government gives him, and with Allan blowing hundreds of millions to NOT host the 2026 Commonwealth Games and billions of dollars on out-of-control Big Build projects, there’s no longer enough cash for everyone – even if you’re the bloke charged with keeping Victorians safe.