“Doing a great job”: Deputy Premier Ben Carroll backs Jacinta Allan and insists her leadership is safe

Deputy Premier Ben Carroll has thrown his support behind Jacinta Allan and insisted her leadership is safe while appearing to distance himself from claims that the Suburban Rail Loop was electorally popular.

Deputy Premier Ben Carroll has insisted Jacinta Allan’s leadership is safe in the wake of federal Labor’s massive election win.

But Mr Carroll appeared to distance himself from claims that the Suburban Rail Loop was electorally popular and helped Anthony Albanese win a second term in power.

His comments come after months of speculation about the Premier’s own future, which had prompted internal chatter after damning polling which exposed her unpopularity with Victorians.

Ms Allan again came under fire this week from Labor Party figures after she said the contentious $34.5bn Suburban Rail Loop helped Anthony Albanese win Victorian seats.

Ben Carroll says Jacinta Allan is doing a great job in difficult circumstances. Picture: David Crosling

Asked on Wednesday whether he agreed with Ms Allan that the election win was a mandate for the SRL, Mr Carroll said: “This was an election win that Anthony Albanese should be so proud of.”

Probed further as to whether Ms Allan’s SRL claim was correct, Mr Carroll responded: “It was a clear choice at the federal level, Anthony Albanese and his positive, fairer vision for Australia … versus Peter Dutton who was all over the shop.”

“It was a strong win for federal Labor,” he said.

But Mr Carroll said he ultimately had confidence in the boss, adding that her leadership was safe.

“I’ve always supported Jacinta Allan and as her deputy you would expect nothing less,” she said.

“She’s doing a great job in difficult circumstances.

“You know what, Victorians are really starting to sharpen and see the real choice between an Allan government versus a Battin unprepared Liberal opposition.”

Mr Carroll said his government could take comfort from Mr Albanese’s emphatic win.

“It’s a strong endorsement of what we are doing as a Labor government,” he said.

“We should walk a bit taller. I agree with the Premier’s comments that we should take heart from this, we should be humble and have humility.

“They came after Hawke. They came after the seat named after Bob Hawke and I was out there in a really hard way. And we’ve walked away with the seat of Menzies, where the Liberal Party was founded.

“We are humble, we are not getting ahead of ourselves, we are focused on the task at hand.”

Originally published as “Doing a great job”: Deputy Premier Ben Carroll backs Jacinta Allan and insists her leadership is safe