Bec Judd has launched a blistering attack on Victoria’s newly elected premier Ben Carroll, accusing him of being complicit in what she described as the state’s ‘downfall’.
The AFL WAG and influencer – who is one of the Victorian Labor government’s most high-profile celebrity critics – took aim at the state’s new leader in a strongly worded Instagram post on Tuesday.
Posting a news article about the leadership change, Bec wrote: ‘Never forget that this man sat side by side with Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan and was complicit in the downfall of Victoria.’
‘Same s**t. Different face,’ she added.
Melbourne socialite and former My Kitchen Rules star Zana Pali – another outspoken critic of the Victorian Labor government – has also responded harshly to the leadership spill.
Posting to Instagram, Zana wrote: ‘They’ve changed the captain, but it’s still the same Labor ship, with the same crew, sailing towards the same iceberg.’
Bec Judd (left) has launched a blistering attack on Victoria’s newly elected premier Ben Carroll (right), accusing him of being complicit in what she described as the state’s ‘downfall’
The AFL WAG and influencer – who is one of the Victorian Labor government’s most high-profile celebrity critics – took aim at the state’s new leader in a strongly worded Instagram post on Tuesday
It’s certainly not the first time Bec and Zana have used their public platforms to speak out against the Victorian leadership.
In September 2024, Bec took aim at then-premier Jacinta Allan over the state’s crime crisis after a violent home invasion allegedly targeted the home of Melbourne radio host Mick Molloy.
Responding to the incident on Instagram, she wrote: ‘Imagine being our premier. Not saying a word after this. Doesn’t care.’
Earlier that year, in February 2024, she also lashed out over Victoria’s soaring debt, sharing a graph comparing the state’s financial position with the rest of Australia and writing: ‘Victoria is cooked.’
Her criticism stretches back even further.
In 2023, Bec accused the Labor government of failing Victorians over rising crime, youth offending and what she described as deteriorating living conditions in Melbourne.
Zana has also been one of the Victorian government’s most vocal celebrity critics in recent years.
In September 2024, following the alleged home invasion at Molloy’s home, the former My Kitchen Rules star declared on Instagram that Victoria had become ‘a laughing stock’ and urged the government to take stronger action on crime.
Melbourne socialite and former My Kitchen Rules star Zana Pali (pictured) – another outspoken critic of the Victorian Labor government – has also responded harshly to the leadership spill
Posting to Instagram, Zana wrote: ‘They’ve changed the captain, but it’s still the same Labor ship, with the same crew, sailing towards the same iceberg’
Months earlier, in May 2024, she criticised the state government’s handling of anti-Israel protests in Melbourne, claiming Victorians no longer felt safe in their own city.
It was announced on Tuesday that Ben Carroll has been elected Victoria’s new premier by Labor MPs after Jacinta Allan abandoned a last-ditch bid to cling to power – even though she insists she could win the next election in November.
Allan broke down as she announced her resignation on Tuesday, ending weeks of speculation over her political future and triggering a caucus vote to choose Victoria’s next premier.
Allan had on Monday rejected calls to quit from a cross-factional delegation of six ministers and other senior MPs, who told her she had lost the support of a majority of the Labor caucus.
Carroll’s path to the premiership proved anything but straightforward on Tuesday.
The former deputy premier had been expected to secure the top job unopposed until Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny launched a surprise leadership challenge, throwing Labor’s caucus meeting into disarray.
MPs were reportedly heard shouting behind closed doors before Kilkenny withdrew from the race, clearing the way for Carroll to emerge victorious and be elected Labor leader and Victoria’s new premier.
Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan announced her resignation after stepping aside as Labor leader following a dramatic party revolt on Tuesday
Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams has been elected deputy leader
Carroll, 51, now faces the daunting task of leading Labor into a state election just weeks away, with the party languishing in the polls
In a brief procedural move during the meeting, Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams was elected interim leader of the Victorian Labor Party for just a few minutes while the leadership transition was formalised. She was later elected deputy leader.
Carroll, 51, now faces the daunting task of leading Labor into a state election just weeks away, with the party languishing in the polls.
‘Yesterday they asked me to put my hand up to lead our party and I agreed. This was not an easy decision, but the stakes at this election are too high.
‘Polling says Victoria is on track for Australia’s first Liberal–One Nation government,’ he said in a video released shortly after his swearing–in.
‘A Liberal–One Nation government will cut schools, health and frontline services. Only Labor can stop the Liberal–One Nation government that will hurt working people.’
His warning came after a News Corp poll published at the weekend found Victorian Labor had slumped well behind the Coalition on a two–party–preferred basis, with the Opposition leading 56 per cent to Labor’s 44.
While Carroll is hardly a new face in Victorian politics, his rise to the state’s top job has been years in the making. The Labor heavyweight has spent more than a decade in senior ministerial roles and was widely viewed as a future premier long before Allan’s leadership came under pressure.
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