Just days after being sworn in as Victoria’s new state premier following Jacinta Allan’s sudden resignation, Ben Carroll has moved quickly to upend his predecessor’s policy approach, announcing plans to launch a royal commission into widespread corruption claims plaguing the state’s flagship Big Build infrastructure program — and confirming he would voluntarily appear to give evidence if summoned.
Carroll, who took office last Tuesday after a party leadership shakeup that forced Allan out of the top job, laid out his timeline for the inquiry in a press briefing on Sunday, saying the probe must get underway before Victoria’s state election scheduled for November. “This is something that needs to be done now,” Carroll told reporters.
The new premier confirmed that calling a royal commission into the construction sector will be his first official act in office — a sharp break from Allan, who rejected calls for a full public inquiry during the final months of her short tenure. The Big Build initiative, one of the state’s largest ever infrastructure pushes, includes major new public works such as upgraded roads, new urban tunnels and expanded train stations, but it has been roiled in recent months by persistent allegations of organized criminal infiltration linked to the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU).
Carroll said he has already directed the incoming head of the Department of Premier and Cabinet to begin drafting the inquiry’s terms of reference, which are set to be publicly unveiled next week. When asked if he would be willing to testify before the commission, he made his position clear: “I would be happy to give evidence if called to do so. Everyone should be questioned that the royal commissioner believes had a role. That will be a matter for the commissioner and the terms of reference – they will be wide and they will be exhaustive.”
Carroll’s announcement came hours after Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson published her party’s proposed terms of reference for the inquiry, which includes a demand to call 25 high-profile witnesses, including two former premiers: Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan. In comments Sunday, Wilson claimed the corruption scandal surrounding Big Build is the worst in Victoria’s history, having already cost state taxpayers an estimated $15 billion. “Yesterday we wrote to the new premier Ben Carroll outlining our non-negotiable terms of reference for a real royal commission into the largest corruption scandal in Victoria’s history,” she said.
When asked about the Opposition’s proposal, Carroll admitted he had not yet reviewed the document, joking that media outlets received copies before his office did. “I think the media got a copy of it before I did and I’ve asked my office to track down a copy,” he said. “I am not going to run a commentary on the royal commission … I’ll have more to say next week.”
Beyond the corruption inquiry, Carroll is moving rapidly to consolidate his control of the state government, with a new front bench cabinet expected to be announced imminently. The state Labor caucus is set to meet Monday to finalize ministerial appointments before Carroll assigns portfolios. Already, two senior ministers aligned with Allan’s Socialist Left faction have resigned from cabinet and announced they will retire from politics at the November 28 election, with political speculation mounting that additional departures will follow. Health Minister Harriet Shing and Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio confirmed their exit from cabinet just two days after the leadership change that ended Allan’s premiership.
Carroll has also moved quickly to shake up the state’s top public service ranks: he has dismissed Jeremi Moule, the long-serving Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary who held the role under both Andrews and Allan, and replaced him with Treasury secretary Chris Barrett.