Updated July 28, 2026 — 2:06pm,first published 11:02amFollow live updates: ALP leadership showdownNew Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has sworn to establish a royal commission into corruption on state government infrastructure sites in his first address to the state after Jacinta Allan’s resignation.“This will be my first act as premier, to set up the royal commission,” Carroll said.He also said his government would appoint a special prosecutor to work in parallel with the commission.“We will strengthen IBAC, giving them follow-the-money powers now, this term.”Allan used her final speech of 1036 days as Victoria’s premier to highlight her government’s achievements: tougher bail laws, a budget back in surplus, free public transport and improvements in women’s health.But as she emphasised Labor’s record upgrading the state’s infrastructure, Allan remained defiant about the corruption scandal that has plagued those same Big Build projects, even as some of her colleagues – and her successor – publicly moved to call for a royal commission.“We’ve removed 92 level crossings, finished the West Gate Tunnel. We’re building the North East Link and the Suburban Rail Loop, and then there’s the Metro Tunnel,” she told reporters.“Not too many people get to see a project of this size and scale through from the start to the end. I am so goddamn proud of it.”By contrast Carroll, who was chosen by his caucus colleagues as the new leader of Victorian Labor after a last-minute challenge, announced he would establish a royal commission into the scandal surrounding the Big Build and the CFMEU as one of his first acts. Several Labor ministers had pressed for such an inquiry during a tense cabinet meeting on Monday, and ministers including Paul Edbrooke, Colin Brooks and Enver Erdogan told the media ahead of Tuesday morning’s caucus meeting that they supported the measure.Jacinta Allan during her final press conference as premier on Tuesday.Getty ImagesIn her final speech as premier, Allan did not mention the revelations in The Age that the scandal-plagued construction union inflated the cost of the government’s signature projects, delayed construction, and employed criminals, including bikies, to work on them.Forced from office in large part because of her refusal to call a royal commission into the Building Bad scandal, Allan intimated that Victorians were benefiting from completed projects without focusing on the corrupt conduct on building sites during their construction.“Yesterday morning, a delegation made up of various parts of the ... party went and visited the premier, they then went and visited me,” Carroll told the media in his first appearance as premier.“Jacinta Allan has been unable to move past the CFMEU corruption issue,” said one senior Labor source speaking anonymously to detail internal party matters.Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny delayed Carroll’s elevation after briefly standing herself, but after a chaotic caucus meeting in which she received 15 votes, including Allan’s, she decided to pull her candidacy.That paved the way for Carroll to claim the top job, and he and new Deputy Premier Gabrielle Williams were sworn in around midday at Government House.Carroll promised to deliver a new direction on integrity, community safety and the economy as premier.In an Instagram video posted less than an hour after he was elevated, Carroll said he was asked by his colleagues to put his hand up for the role and he agreed. He said polling showed Victoria was on track for Australia’s first Liberal and One Nation government and the “stakes were too high”.“On integrity, on community safety and on the economy – as premier, I will deliver that new direction.”Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to Allan, saying politics could be “a very tough business”.“Jacinta Allan is someone who I think is a very decent human being,” Albanese said at a press conference in Western Australia. “Someone who’s motivated by her passionate belief in the lifestyle and in education, health [and] transport of Victorians.”More:Victorian electionJacinta AllanFor subscribersBuilding BadVictorian ParliamentBen CarrollFrom our partners