Geelong leaders welcome new Premier

GEELONG’S leaders have welcomed Jacinta Allan as Victoria’s new Premier.

Ms Allan was chosen as the party’s leader by her Labor colleagues last week, following the snap resignation of Dan Andrews.

G21 chief executive officer Guilia Baggio congratulated Ms Allan – who was deputy premier to Mr Andrews – on her appointment.

“Premier Allan has a strong personal connection to regional Victoria and a long track record overseeing many of Victoria’s major projects,” she said,

“Both attributes will stand her in good stead in the top job and we look forward to working closely with her.

“Premier Allan’s visits to our region since the cancellation of the Commonwealth Games have been appreciated, particularly her address at the G21 forum in July outlining new funding opportunities for our region.

She said G21 now looked forward to the delivery of post-Games infrastructure as well as the many homes outlined in the Housing Statement.

“It will be important to honour timelines and future-proof these initiatives to ensure investment continues beyond the electoral cycle.

“In particular, our region’s lack of social, affordable and key worker housing has been a major constraint on our regional economy and has led to a chronic shortage of workers, especially in our coastal towns and major employment centres such as Colac.

“Transport is another pain point and Premier Allan has already been well briefed on our region’s need for frequent and direct public transport to accommodate a rapidly expanding population.”

 

CIty of Greater Geelong mayor Trent Sullivan welcomed the appointment of Ms Allan as Premier and Ben Carroll as Deputy Premier.

“As an experienced member from Bendigo, Premier Allan understands the importance of investing in regional cities, and we look forward to discussing how we can work together to further develop the Geelong region.”

Geelong’s local Labor MPs – Christine Couzens (Geelong), Alison Marchant (Bellarine) and Darren Cheeseman (South Barwon) all posted messages on their Facebook profiles welcoming Ms Allan’s appointment, as did Corangamite federal member Libby Coker.

“Jacinta Allan is a long-time member of the Labor Party and has been a strong advocate for progressive policies throughout her career,” Ms Couzens wrote.

“During her time in office, Jacinta Allan has championed several important reforms, such as increasing support for vulnerable groups, improving public transport, and investing in renewable energy.”

In contrast, Polwarth Liberal MP Richard Riordan posted a series of photos titled “Meet Jacinta your new Premier and her budget blowouts”, listing projects including the East West Link, the Commonwealth Games and the Suburban Rail Loop.

Ms Allan also announced the makeup of her first cabinet on Monday this week.

Ms Couzens has retained her position as Parliamentary Secretary for First Peoples, while Mr Cheeseman has lost his position as the Parliamentary Secretary for Community Sport but is the new Parliamentary Secretary for Education.