Jacinta Allan expected to announce retirements ahead of November state election
Prime Minister Jacinta Allan is expected to announce the retirement of some ministers and a cabinet reshuffle ahead of the November state election, while Labor MPs will meet on Tuesday.
On Thursday, MPs were told to be ready for Tuesday’s meeting in anticipation of a vote on vacant cabinet positions.
Natalie Hutchins announced her retirement and left the cabinet in December. However, his portfolios have been redistributed among current ministers and his position in the cabinet has not yet been filled.
Other names highlighted for retirement are Danny Pearson, Gayle Tierney and Mary-Anne Thomas.
Pearson and Tierney had previously denied any intention to resign when asked. However, this did not reduce speculation that they would not participate in the upcoming elections.
New resignations had been expected since December, when Hutchins announced his retirement due to Allan’s decision not to immediately appoint another MP to the ministry.
At the time, Labor MPs said Allan was waiting for further resignations to trigger a bigger reshuffle.
Backbench MPs called last week to rally support for the promotion.
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Rachel Eddie is The Age’s Victorian political correspondent. Contact her at rachel.eddie@theage.com.au, rachel.eddie@protonmail.com or via Signal at @RachelEddie.99.Connect with: X or email.
