Carroll Calls Royal Commission

“Let me make one thing very clear: I am not Daniel Andrews. I am not Jacinta Allan.”

Ben Carroll has not wasted any time distancing his policy agenda from that of his predecessors.

Within hours of toppling Jacinta Allan to become Victoria’s 50th Premier, Mr Carroll made a captain’s call of major consequence, announcing his first action in the role would be to establish a Royal Commission into the construction sector.

Victoria’s new leader did not stop there, promising to provide more funding for the state’s struggling police force and work to improve Labor’s relationship with the business community.

“Under my government, when crimes are committed, they will be dealt with to meet the community’s expectations. That’s why I have been in contact the police commissioner today, to make one thing very clear. We will provide the powers, the funding and the support they need to fight crime,” Mr Carroll said.

“Labor will always be the party of working people. But Victoria’s economy is a partnership between business, government and working people. A government I lead will respect the partnership.”

While Labor’s U-turn might indicate the government has finally read the room, a day is a long time in politics, and Jess Wilson’s camp has already adjusted its political messaging to make Carroll the bad guy.

Labor Still Lacks A Serious Challenger Out West

However, despite the musical chairs that Labor and the Liberals have played in Spring Street across the past 12 months, not much has actually changed out in Wyndham.

Despite discontent against decades of Labor rule reaching fever pitch in corners of the western suburbs, no serious challenger has actually presented itself.

Moira Deeming, the only recognisable force the Liberals had west of the Yarra, has now quit the party and joined the crossbench as an independent for the remainder of her term.

Astonishingly, the Liberals have only fielded one lower house candidate—Reece Clark in Werribee—four months out from a crucial election.

One Nation may not be lacking in terms of voter base or potential candidates, but they have zero serious political presence, much less an organised campaign, in the western suburbs.

The West Party have been extremely active, but their biggest power in this election will be who they do preference deals with—something they have notably either refused to do or not publicly committed to.

Left-leaning parties like the Greens, Legalise Cannabis Victoria, the Victorian Socialists and the Animal Justice Party, which have a strong appeal among many younger voters, are likely to favour the incumbents come November.