RedBridge director and former Labor strategist Kos Samaras says former premier Daniel Andrews is now less popular with Victorian voters than Jacinta Allan, claiming the fallout from corruption allegations linked to the state’s Big Build projects is a major concern for voters.

Speaking to News24, Samaras said the controversy was increasingly shaping public perceptions of the former Labor government and made clear why Premier Ben Carroll has tried to distance himself from the Andrews era.

Samaras said it was unsurprising Carroll had publicly stressed he was ‘not Daniel Andrews’ during his first speech as Premier, as he attempts to reset the government’s image.

He argued Labor’s challenge was to convince voters that a new leader marks a real break from the controversies of previous administrations.

‘One of Jacinta’s strategic failures was that she was not able to distance herself from that previous administration,’ Samaras said.

Samaras said attitudes towards Andrews had steadily deteriorated, with private polling revealing a significant drop in support for the former premier.

‘As time has gone on, Victorians’ love affair with Dan Andrews has waned to the point where his personal ratings in our private polling are lower than Jacinta’s.’

According to Samaras, Carroll’s efforts to mark a clean break from previous governments reflect a growing belief within Labor that voters now want change rather than continuity.

Turning to the Opposition, Samaras credited Liberal leader Jess Wilson with improving the Coalition’s political position and creating a clearer alternative to the government.

He said Wilson had helped sharpen the Opposition’s message just as Labor faced mounting scrutiny over its record in office.

Samaras also warned that One Nation’s rising support made the upcoming election more unpredictable than ever.

One Nation recorded a 19 per cent primary in the latest Newspoll released on Monday, with Labor on 28, and the Coalition on 31 per cent.

Deputy Liberal leader David Southwick has accused the Victorian Government of announcing a ‘sham’ Royal Commission into alleged misconduct linked to the state’s Big Build infrastructure projects, arguing only a change of government would deliver genuine accountability.

Speaking during the no confidence motion in Parliament, Southwick said Victorians could not have confidence in a process established by the same government facing questions over the projects.

‘Every member of the government should look over their shoulder when there is a proper Royal Commission,’ he said.

Southwick claimed a future Coalition government would subject the allegations to far greater scrutiny and transparency.

He accused Labor of attempting to avoid accountability over what he described as widespread failures across government.

‘They can’t handle the truth about crime, corruption, waste and mismanagement.’

The deputy Liberal leader also took aim at Labor’s backbench MPs, suggesting some had reasons for resisting further investigation into the allegations.

‘These backbenchers have something to hide.’

Southwick urged government MPs to break ranks and support the no confidence motion.

‘This is a failed government that we need to change, and I implore anyone with any kind of integrity, unlike the Premier, to cross the floor.’

New Deputy Premier Gabrielle Williams has dismissed the opposition’s no-confidence motion as a political ‘stunt’, accusing the Coalition of focusing on theatrics rather than substantive issues.

Speaking during the parliamentary debate, Williams took aim at the Opposition’s profile with voters, joking that Coalition MPs struggle to attract attention when they travel across Victoria.

‘They need a rent-a-crowd when they go around the state because nobody knows who they are.’

Williams has emerged as a key figure in the government’s leadership transition.

She had been set to serve as interim premier for around six weeks after Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny nominated for the Labor leadership.

That plan was ultimately abandoned when Kilkenny withdrew from the contest, clearing the way for Ben Carroll.

Williams accused the Opposition of ‘talking down’ Victoria, continuing the Labor line that the Coalition would cut services if they were elected in November.

‘They are deeply focused on backrooms, thinking about what they can take away.’

‘This is a regressive Opposition.’

Opposition Leader Jess Wilson has moved a motion of no confidence in the Victorian Labor Government, arguing that replacing the premier does not amount to a fresh start after years of Labor rule.

Speaking in support of the motion, Nationals Leader Danny O’Brien said the government’s problems ran far deeper than a leadership change.

‘You can change the jockey, but it doesn’t matter if the horse is buggered,’ he said.

O’Brien accused Labor MPs of focusing on internal politics after the government moved its own confidence motion earlier in the day.

‘You moved a vote of confidence in your own government this morning, and many of you voted for it.’

‘If there is any evidence of any government more obsessed with itself, it is the Labor government today.’

Rejecting claims that the new premier represents a break from the past, O’Brien invoked a Pirates of the Caribbean reference, comparing Labor’s leadership team to the crew of the Flying Dutchman, the cursed ghost ship captained by Davy Jones.

‘Davy Jones, captain of the Flying Dutchman — if you’re part of the crew, you’re part of the ship forever.’

‘The new Premier has been part of the crew and part of the ship. There is no fresh start for this government.’

‘To continue the analogy, he’s the first mate of this ship.’

O’Brien said the government’s record belonged not only to its former leader but also to those who had served alongside her in senior positions.

‘We have a government that has virtually destroyed this state.’

Opposition Leader Jess Wilson has used her first Question Time encounter with new Premier Ben Carroll to attack his integrity, targeting comments he made weeks before replacing Jacinta Allan.

Wilson accused Carroll of misleading Victorians about his loyalty to the former Premier, highlighting a June media appearance where he referenced his daughter while backing Allan’s leadership.

‘I’ve got a young daughter at home and I couldn’t be more proud to make sure she grows up knowing that I supported Jacinta Allan,’ Carroll said at the time.

In Parliament on Tuesday, Wilson pressed Carroll over those remarks and his repeated insistence that he would not move against Allan.

‘How can Victorians possibly believe he can act with integrity when he can’t be honest about his own daughter?’ Wilson asked.

Carroll rejected the criticism, repeating the explanation he had already offered after taking over as Labor leader. ‘There has been a change in circumstance,’ he said.

She later challenged the Premier again, asking: ‘When will the Premier look Victorians in the eye and apologise for deceiving his daughter and demonstrating he lacks the integrity needed to govern Victoria?’

Carroll accused Wilson of ‘being a bit upset’, mocking her ‘Fresh Start Tour’ of Victoria, where she visited every seat in the state.

‘Someone has realised that the Fresh Start Tour was the false start tour,’ he said.

Ben Carroll repeatedly fell back on the same defence during his first press conference as Victoria’s 50th Premier, using the phrase ‘the circumstances changed’ as reporters grilled him over Jacinta Allan’s leadership change.

Journalists repeatedly challenged Carroll over comments he made just weeks ago pledging loyalty to Allan, including declaring he could ‘look her in the eye’ and support her leadership.

But when asked to explain why he had ultimately replaced the former Premier, Carroll returned to a familiar line.

Carroll used the phrase ‘the circumstances changed’ a total of seven times during the press conference.

Each time, Carroll pointed to the events of Monday morning, when he said a delegation of Labor figures informed Allan she had lost the support of the caucus before approaching him to become leader.

‘Yesterday morning, I was approached by a delegation who asked me to stand for leader,’ Carroll said.

‘This delegation had already visited the Premier and informed her that they want to change. I’m going to be that change.’

New Premier Ben Carroll has pledged to take the Victorian Labor government in a ‘new direction’, using his first address as party leader to announce a royal commission into the construction sector and signal a clear break with his predecessors.

‘Let me make one thing very clear. I am not Daniel Andrews. I am not Jacinta Allan. I will do things differently,’ he said.

Speaking after being elected unanimously by Labor’s caucus, Carroll said he stepped up for the leadership after colleagues told him Jacinta Allan no longer had the support of the parliamentary party.

‘This was not an easy decision, but the stakes at this election are too high.’

Carroll warned that polling showed Labor was at risk of losing power at November’s election, arguing Victoria could end up with ‘Australia’s first Liberal-One Nation government’ if voters turned away from Labor.

‘A Liberal-One Nation government that will cut hospitals, cut schools, and cut front-line services,’ he said.

‘A Liberal-One Nation government that will cut childcare, cut free TAFE, and so many other services Victorians rely on every day.’

The new Premier confirmed his first official act would be to set up a royal commission into the construction sector, alongside a special prosecutor to work in parallel.

‘That is why my first action as Premier will be to call a royal commission into the construction sector,’ Carroll said.

‘We will also immediately establish a special prosecutor that will work in parallel with the royal commission.’

He also pledged to strengthen Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog.

Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson has dismissed Labor’s leadership change as cosmetic, arguing the government’s problems extend far beyond who occupies the Premier’s office.

‘It does not matter who leads this government,’ Wilson said, speaking in Parliament after Carroll’s speech.

‘The Labor Party does not have the guts to admit [the] government has forfeited its moral authority to govern.’

Wilson sought to tie incoming Premier Ben Carroll to the controversies that engulfed Jacinta Allan’s government, arguing he cannot distance himself from decisions made while serving in Cabinet.

‘The new Premier may try to pretend he has nothing to do with Labor’s corruption, but he stood at its centre,’ she said.

Wilson also targeted the government’s handling of major infrastructure projects, claiming Carroll must take responsibility for the Big Build and the allegations of corruption surrounding it.

‘The Big Build is a creation of this government and the Premier owns this legacy,’ she said.

‘He sat around the Cabinet table while $15 billion [was] sent to organised crime.’

‘The Labor government outsourced procurement processes for work on taxpayer sites the CFMEU.’

The comments come as Carroll attempts to reset Labor’s fortunes following Jacinta Allan’s resignation, including his pledge to establish a Royal Commission into the construction sector.

Ben Carroll has defended his role in Jacinta Allan’s ouster – as he is directly asked what he will tell his daughter.

In June, Caroll strongly backed Allan’s leadership by using the example of his daughter.

‘I’ve got a young daughter at home and I couldn’t be more proud to make sure she grows up knowing that I supported Jacinta Allan,’ Carroll said then.

He also dismissed suggestions he would move against the Premier.

‘Are you going to ask her to step aside?’ a reporter asked.

‘No,’ Carroll replied.

When pressed further – ‘Can you look her in the eye and say that?’ – Carroll responded: ‘I can look you in the eye and say that, Premier.’

On Tuesday, reporters confronted Carroll with those remarks during his first press conference as Labor leader. They asked what he would now tell his daughter after helping bring about Allan’s departure.

Carroll insisted the dynamics inside Labor had changed.

‘The circumstances changed,’ he said – a slogan he repeated at least seven times throughout the press conference.

‘Yesterday morning, I was approached by a delegation who asked me to stand for leader. This delegation had already visited the Premier and informed her that they want to change. I’m going to be that change.’

The new Premier was also quizzed on whether Tuesday’s approach from colleagues was genuinely the first time he had been asked to consider a leadership bid.

‘Is that really the first time that someone came to you?’ one reporter asked.

Journalists continued to question whether his public assurances to Allan had damaged trust.

‘That suggests a lack of trust, though, didn’t it? You promised someone something to their face. How can you now lead Victorians?’ a reporter asked.

Carroll maintained that events within the caucus had shifted rapidly.

‘The truth is the circumstances changed,’ he said.

New Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has used his first video message since becoming Labor leader to pledge a new direction for the government and warn against the threat of a Liberal-One Nation administration.

In a video posted to Facebook on Tuesday, Carroll said he was ‘honoured and humbled’ to have been elected unanimously by his Labor colleagues to succeed Jacinta Allan as Premier.

‘Yesterday, they asked me to put my hand up to lead our party, and I agreed,’ Carroll said.

‘This was not an easy decision.’

Carroll described the leadership change as necessary ahead of November’s state election, arguing Labor is facing a serious challenge from the Opposition.

‘The stakes at this election are too high,’ he said.

‘Polling says Victoria is on track for Australia’s first Liberal-One Nation government.’

The new Premier accused the Coalition of threatening public services, claiming a Liberal-One Nation government would ‘cut schools, health and frontline services’ and ‘hurt working people.’

At the same time, Carroll acknowledged Victorians are demanding change from Labor.

‘It is clear that on key issues that matter to Victorians, our government needs to go in a new direction,’ he said.

‘On integrity, on community safety, and on the economy.’

Carroll pledged to deliver that change as Premier.

‘As Premier, I will deliver that new direction,’ he said.

The video was posted to Carroll’s Facebook page shortly after his elevation to Victoria’s top job.

Comments were disabled on the post.

Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming has quit the Parliamentary Liberal Party and will sit on the crossbench as an independent after the party voted to dump her as a candidate ahead of November’s state election.

The move follows months of internal conflict between Deeming and the Liberal Party, culminating in a state executive meeting at which party officials voted to withdraw her endorsement.

Deeming had attempted to stop the process through the Supreme Court, launching an eleventh-hour challenge against the party’s actions. However, she withdrew the legal bid before the meeting proceeded.

The dispute stemmed from an altercation in May, after Deeming accused fellow Liberal MP Matthew Guy of placing her in a ‘violent’ headlock during a confrontation.

She later said she had misunderstood the meaning of the term ‘headlock’.

Deeming confirmed her departure from the parliamentary party in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.

‘Today, I have resigned from the parliamentary Liberal Party and will sit with the crossbench as an Independent.

‘My focus has always been, and will continue to be, on representing the needs and concerns of everyday Australians.

‘I was elected to fight for freedom, fair laws, and families.

‘To save our state from the endemic corruption, crushing debt, and the rising crime crisis, Labor has got to go. I remain fully committed to seeing that through.

‘Thank you to those who have supported me.’

Gabrielle Williams has been elected Deputy Leader of the Victorian Labor Party after a leadership contest was avoided, with Sonya Kilkenny abandoning her bid for the top job.

Williams had been set to serve as interim Premier while Labor members voted between Ben Carroll and Sonya Kilkenny to replace Jacinta Allan.

However, Kilkenny’s exit from the contest cleared the way for a swift transition, allowing Carroll to take the leadership without a prolonged ballot.