News and politics live updates: Jacinta Allan steps down as Victorian Premier

Jacinta Allan believes she would have won the internal electtion against Ben Carroll.

“I believe I would have won. But doing so this close to an election takes up valuable resources, including the most precious of one — time.

“At the end of the day, I am and always have been, a team player.”

Outgoing Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan says she chose to step aside rather than force a lengthy party ballot, arguing it would have created unnecessary uncertainty ahead of the next election.

While insisting she believed she would have won a vote of Labor members, Ms Allan said the process would have consumed valuable time and resources.

She thanked Victorians for the “honour of my life” serving as Premier and said she was leaving proud of her government’s record after 1,036 days in office.

In a farewell address, Ms Allan pointed to falling crime, a return to budget surplus, cost-of-living measures, major infrastructure projects and investments in schools and hospitals as key achievements of her government. She said she had always put working families first and vowed to continue fighting for them beyond politics, while defending projects including the Metro Tunnel, West Gate Tunnel, North East Link and Suburban Rail Loop against Coalition criticism.

Jacinta Allan has announced she is stepping down as leader of the Victorian Parliamentary Labor Party and Premier, saying the decision was made in the best interests of both the party and the state.

In a statement, Ms Allan said she would chair a caucus meeting to elect a new leader and pledged her full support if Ben Carroll succeeds her.

“I have made the difficult decision to step aside as leader of the Victorian state Parliamentary Labor Party, and as Premier of Victoria.”

She added, “I am making this decision because it’s the right thing by the Labor Party, and by the Victorian people.”

We’ve just heard Jacinta Allan will speak to the media at 9:30 this morning.

Follow along for live updates.

A new oil refinery being considered for the country would still require imported oil to run, only partially shielding Australia from ongoing global shocks.

A $4 million pre-feasibility study into a new large-scale oil refinery at Karratha in the Pilbara will be announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and West Australian Premier Roger Cook on Tuesday.

It would be built by Western Australian industrial company Perdaman and is slated to create thousands of jobs in a boost to the local economy.

The facility would be the first new large-scale petrol refinery built in Australia since the 1960s and would join the nation’s two existing ones in Brisbane and Geelong.

Resources Minister Madeleine King said the refinery would still be reliant on imported crude oil.

There is potential for oil discovery off the WA coast, although it has not yet come to fruition.

“The difference with crude oil, the unrefined product, is that it is storable for much, much longer (than relying on refined fuel)“, Ms King told ABC Radio National.

“This (would) make a great difference ... to sovereign capacity - being able to have capacity on the west coast to refine crude oil into this product

The investigation is the first agreement signed under the federal government’s $10 million support for feasibility studies into new or existing fuel refining capabilities, announced as part of a $15 billion fuel security package.

Read more.

Senator Penny Wong says the Federal Government will continue to push back against the latest US tariffs, arguing the measures are “not justified” and insisting Australia has some of the world’s strongest modern slavery laws.

Speaking on ABC News Breakfast, Senator Wong also addressed allegations raised in a Four Corners investigation about Chinese tomatoes produced with forced labour potentially entering Australian supply chains. While not commenting directly on the claims, she said consumers had a right to expect products were accurately labelled. “Australians expect suppliers, retailers, to deliver on what they say. And if they say something is made in Australia or made in Italy, then what the consumer should be assured of receiving.”

Foreign Minister Penny Wong says the Federal Government is focused on securing Australia’s fuel supplies rather than extending fuel excise relief, as conflict overseas continues to put pressure on global energy markets and drive up prices at the bowser.

Speaking on ABC News Breakfast, Senator Wong said the Government’s priority was ensuring fuel and fertiliser continued flowing into Australia through international partnerships while strengthening the nation’s long-term energy security.

She confirmed the temporary fuel excise cut would end as planned this weekend, saying the Government remained focused on broader cost-of-living measures and flagged further announcements from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on boosting Australia’s domestic oil refining capacity.

Victorian Deputy Premier Ben Carroll has arrived for Tuesday morning’s Labor caucus meeting, where he is expected to challenge Jacinta Allan for the party leadership.

Mr Carroll, the only MP to publicly nominate against the Premier, kept his comments brief as he entered the meeting.

“I will have more to say later but right now my focus is on talking to my colleagues and I will have more to say later, but they’re my focus,” he said.

Victorian Deputy Premier Ben Carroll has officially launched a challenge for the Labor leadership after a delegation of ministers and MPs urged Premier Jacinta Allan to step down during a meeting on Monday morning.

Ms Allan had already vowed to contest any leadership challenge in a letter to the Labor Party’s state secretary.

Announcing his candidacy on X, Mr Carroll said colleagues had asked him to nominate, writing, “It is clear that the Premier has lost the majority of our Caucus.”

He added, “I have visited the Premier to inform her that I will be nominating for the leadership of the Labor Party. This decision is not easy, but the stakes at the upcoming election are simply too high.”

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan is expected to face a leadership spill on Tuesday morning, with supporters inside the Labor party room believing she is likely to lose the motion.

Ms Allan has already said she will contest a leadership ballot if the spill proceeds. Under Labor’s rules, that would trigger a four-week vote of the party’s membership, while MPs appoint an interim leader who cannot stand as a candidate in the ballot.