Who is Ben Carroll, poised to become Victoria's new premier?

Who is Ben Carroll, poised to become Victoria's new premier and Jacinta Allan's successor? Tue 28 Jul 2026 at 9:48am , updatedTue 28 Jul 2026 at 9:49am Only a short drive from Darryl Kerrigan's fictional home in the classic comedy film The Castle, Airport West has shaped the political story of Victoria's new premier. Ben Carroll's parents built their family home in the north-western Melbourne suburb back in 1974, a year before Victoria's 50th premier was born — and two years before his future electorate of Niddrie was created. The 51-year-old former lawyer and political adviser is now poised to take the leadership of the Victorian Labor Party, with premier Jacinta Allan resigning ahead of an expected spill motion. Like the members of the cinematic Kerrigan clan, Carroll has previously spoken about how his parents established a proud family business under the Essendon Airport flight path. "In addition to building their family home, Mum and Dad also started their own small business, G B K Electrics — the initials stand for Greg, Ben and Kay," Carroll said in his inaugural speech in parliament after being elected the Member for Niddrie in 2012. "Raising a family and establishing a small business at the same time is hard work. Mum and Dad succeeded at both. "When I was growing up, dinner time was characterised by Dad putting the telephone off the hook so the family could sit down and have a meal together without interruption." When The Castle first hit cinemas in 1997, a young Carroll was studying law at La Trobe University and working part-time as a checkout operator. "I spent eight years at Kmart in Airport West, which greatly assisted me during my college and university years," he said in that first speech. "At this time, I also joined the union covering the retail sector — that is, the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association — and got a good understanding of the importance of unions in helping working people." His union experience inspired him to become a political adviser under Steve Bracks, Victoria's Labor premier from 1999 to 2007. Both Bracks and his successor John Brumby (who was premier from 2007 to 2010) have offered effusive praise of their former staffer. Author and speechwriter Joel Deane said Carroll's leadership approach was likely to be more inspired by the Bracks-Brumby era, rather than a simple continuation of the Andrews-Allan years. Deane wrote Catch and Kill about Labor's "golden four" of the 2000s — Bracks, Brumby, John Thwaites and Rob Hulls — and how they steered Victoria in a centre-left direction from the 1990s Kennett revolution. "In some ways, Ben Carroll could be a throwback to the Bracks-Brumby era — socially progressive and fiscally conservative — but you never truly know until someone becomes leader,"he said. "You see some in politics, Labor and Liberal, and you don't know exactly what they stand for and wonder if it's just a career path. "That's not the case with Ben. He's shown both a clear vision balanced with a pragmatic approach to progressive politics." Deane said Carroll's outlook has also been shaped by his work for federal MPs Bill Shorten and Stephen Conroy. "Dan Andrews was a somewhat impulsive politician, always on the front foot and that certainly worked for many years. Bracks was inspired by Bob Hawke and in turn, Ben has been inspired by Bracks — a first-among-equals, chairperson type of approach of consultative government." Carroll enters Victorian parliament Carroll won the Niddrie Labor pre-selection battle in 2012 against future cabinet colleague Jaclyn Symes, who is now treasurer. He then entered Victorian parliament after winning a by-election that was triggered by the resignation of Rob Hulls. Monash University politics professor Zareh Ghazarian said Carroll has held more than a dozen portfolios since Labor returned to power at the 2014 state election, most notably Education since 2023. He became deputy premier under Allan that same year, but not before aiming for the top job himself — a move that reportedly infuriated Andrews, Ghazarian said. "Ben Carroll attracted some interest as a future leader in the final years of Dan Andrews as premier," he said. "But he showed significant tenacity in trying to run for the premiership in 2023, despite Dan Andrews's firm, unwavering backing of Jacinta Allan as his successor. "Andrews wanted Jacinta Allan as premier and Tim Pallas as deputy, but Ben Carroll managed to secure the deputy role and established himself as heir apparent. "Having said that, Labor's transition from Andrews to Allan was reasonably seamless while the Victorian Liberals have cycled through John Pesutto, Brad Battin and Jess Wilson in less than four years. "Now Labor will have to deal with the difficulties of leadership change." Lessons for Carroll ahead of leadership Carroll has faced several hurdles in the education portfolio, notably the inadvertent release of year 12 exam results and two statewide teacher strikes amid an ongoing pay dispute that showed no sign of being resolved. But Ghazarian said law and order would be the main issue the new Labor leader would need to tackle before polling day, a factor the incoming premier has acknowledged. "We know, as a 12-year-old government, we have to be the insurgent," Carroll said in early June. "Focus on the fundamentals: community safety, growing the economy, being a state that’s open for business." With social media and populism transforming campaigning in the 2020s, Deane said the Niddrie MP's suburban story could help Labor ahead of the November poll. "Victoria was traditionally run out of Melbourne's eastern suburbs," he said. "Bracks and Brumby changed that dynamic — they were very effective in securing Victoria's regional centres during the 2000s, whereas Dan Andrews saw the political potential of Melbourne's outer ring electorates. "Labor's grip on the type of suburbs Ben represents — north, north-west — were Labor for generations but now stand a real chance of falling to an independent [or] minor party equivalent of what the teal movement has done to the Liberal Party." Victoria does not have a history of ditching a premier less than a year out from an election. The exception is Lindsay Thompson in 1981 — like Mr Carroll, an education minister who was thrust into the top job to save the political day. "Sometimes replacing a premier in an election year works," Ghazarian said. "There's been examples interstate but, in Victoria, Lindsay Thompson lasted less than 12 months before losing the 1982 election to John Cain."