New Premier Ben Carroll mulls cabinet appointments following Jacinta Allan’s resignation; plans for Big Build royal commission

Former Labor prime minister Steve Bracks said Jacinta Allan should set up a royal commission into the construction industry but praised new Prime Minister Ben Carroll for quickly announcing it.

“I know that he [Allan] Bracks has just told ABC Radio National that he felt that a royal commission wouldn’t achieve the objectives that people thought it would, but you know it’s water under the bridge now and what’s actually happened is that the new prime minister, Ben Carroll, has moved very quickly, very effectively.

Asked whether the Labor government feared a royal commission, Bracks said he thought it was “a good thing” and would be “an effective mechanism for ensuring accountability in the building and construction industry in the future”.

Bracks said Carroll would bring a “new approach to government” but warned the November state election would be “hand-to-hand combat” across all 88 seats as One Nation poses a threat alongside the Coalition.

He said Allan “had no choice but to resign” but added that he had “made a huge contribution to public life in Victoria over a long period of time”.