A leadership spill, a premier who refuses to quit, and a demand issued to colleagues – all before lunch

July 27, 2026 — 7:48pm

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It was just after 10am on Monday, an hour when Jacinta Allan would normally be busy preparing for cabinet at the start of a busy parliamentary week, that the premier got to see for the first time the faces of the once-loyal colleagues who now want her gone.

They walked into her office at No.1 Treasury Place led by Gabrielle Williams, a senior minister within the premier’s powerful Left faction.

Behind Williams came Left faction convenor Matt Hilakari, Right faction convenor Ella George and ministers Anthony Carbines, Lizzie Blandthorn, Colin Brooks, Ingrid Stitt and Luba Grigorovitch. Dylan Wight, another factional convenor, was stuck in traffic and missed the meeting.

The premier invited the delegation to sit. They wouldn’t stay long.

Williams, the appointed spokesperson, delivered what one source in the room described as a polite but clear message: The premier had lost the support of the majority of the caucus and should stand down on her own terms.

If the premier refused, a spill motion would be moved at the next day’s caucus meeting, Williams told her.

The premier’s response was defiant. She was prepared to fight them all the way.

“And I expect you all to resign,” Allan added.

Even then, the premier still had a glimmer of hope that she was dealing with another kind of half-baked challenge she had previously endured, rather than a well-organised and broadly supported leadership spill.

Allan asked the plotters who their candidate was. They replied they didn’t have one.

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“You are coming in here without a candidate?” The premier was incredulous.

A short time later, her hope vanished.

For a second time that morning, Williams rose in the lift from the ministerial offices to the premier’s suite. This time, she was accompanied by Deputy Premier Ben Carroll. Widely considered the only viable challenger, Carroll had agreed to stand against the premier.

Allan requested a one-on-one meeting. What was said inside the........

© The Age