New premier Jacinta Allan stands by her major project budget record
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New Victorian premier Jacinta Allan has defended her record of overseeing the state’s major transport projects, which have had a series of cost overruns that led to the state budget blowing out.
Allan was selected as premier unopposed in the Labor caucus room on Wednesday after former premier Daniel Andrews quit on Tuesday. He left behind a series of major infrastructure projects still to be finished, while the state’s net debt is set to grow from about $135.4 billion by the middle of next year to $171.4 billion by mid-2027.
Jacinta Allan has overseen public transport since 2014.Credit: Jason South
“No one has presided over a program this big that is transforming our transport network,” Allan told ABC radio on Thursday morning.
“It’s about making sure the investment is needed to get the job done. These projects have been delivered in a way that we need to focus on the outcome.”
Asked which major projects were within budget, she said the Level Crossings Removal Project would be under budget. The Metro Tunnel and West Gate Tunnel have both exceeded their budgets by billions. She did not answer when asked if the Suburban Rail Loop would be kept to its initial $50 billion price tag.
“It’s going really well,” she said of the 90-kilometre orbital rail line.
Allan was endorsed unopposed as Victoria’s new Labor leader on Wednesday afternoon, narrowly avoiding weeks of factional wars, a day after Andrews announced his sudden resignation.
She was sworn in as the state’s 49th premier at 5pm on Wednesday, the second woman to lead the state.
“There have been, historically, so few women even in parliament, let alone in different ministerial and leadership roles,” she said.
“There is, I think, a sense of, ‘What will a woman look like as a minister, how do I perform as a leader’, so yes, I think there are different expectations, simply because it has been unusual in history. Thankfully that is changing.”
Her cabinet is more than 50 per cent women, and she added Vicki Ward to the ministry on Wednesday.
Asked whether she would be more collaborative than her predecessor Andrews, who was criticised for centralising power in his office, Allan disputed the premise but said she would work with her colleagues to get the best outcome.
“That has been a hallmark of the [Andrews] government, it’s one I intend to continue,” she said. “Every leader will shape and work with their colleagues in their own way.
“I think there is an expectation that the premier and your office, you need to lead. The way I will do that is as I’ve worked in the past, with my colleagues, with other offices, because that’s the way you get the best results. But can I say that has been a feature of the now former Andrews government, and it will absolutely be a feature of my government.”
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