News and politics live updates: Jacinta Allan faces leadership challenge as Ben Carroll emerges as frontrunner

Victorian Deputy Premier Ben Carroll has told Premier Jacinta Allan he intends to stand for leader in a vote that could be held as early as Tuesday, according to multiple reports.

After being visited Monday morning by at least six ministers and two faction leaders, Mr Carroll contacted Ms Allan and notified her that he would be a candidate if Labor MPs decide to open her position to a vote, The Australian, The Age and the Herald Sun reported.

Mr Carroll had previously said that he would not challenge Ms Allan, whose approval ratings have fallen as crime in the state has risen and allegations made about CFMEU-linked corruption in state infrastructure projects known as the Big Build.

Labor MPs fear the government will be defeated at the election scheduled for November 28.

Ms Allan told the ministers in the delegation they should resign, according to reports, although there is no indication they have.

Liberal Leader Jess Wilson said the opposition would move a no-confidence motion against the government in Tuesday and invited Labor MPs to vote it.

If the motion is passed, it would bring down the government and could lead to an early election, which the opposition wants.

“Victorians have had enough of this corrupt, incompetent Labor government, regardless of who the premier is, and I know they are desperately seeking change,” Mr Wilson told News24, the new name for Sky News.

A group of Labor MPs from the party’s right and left factions visited Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan on Monday morning and urged her to resign, according to The Australian and Age newspapers.

The MPs then visited Deputy Premier Ben Carroll and urged him to challenge the Premier, The Australian reported. The papers did not identify the MPs by name, but the reports follow briefings to journalists that factional leaders had concluded Ms Allan had lost the support of Labor MPs over the weekend.

Mr Carroll has previously said he would not challenge the Premier, although The Age reported sources close to him on Monday morning stating he was reconsidering his position.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan wrote today to the Labor Party’s head office asking them to prepare for a vote of Labor MPs on who should lead the party.

The request, which was distributed to media outlets, shows that she does not intend to resign despite party factional leaders telling journalists that she no longer has the support of her caucus.

“Dear Steve,” she wrote to state secretary Steve Staikos Monday morning, “I refer to media speculation regarding the leadership of the State Parliamentary Labor Party.

“I am writing to request that you ensure Victorian Labor is prepared to conduct an election for the leadership of the State Parliamentary Labor Party in the event an election is required.

“As you are aware, Party rules require the State Secretary to provide administrative support to ensure the effective conduct of a ballot of all eligible party members.

“I also wish to formally notify you of my intention to be a candidate for the leadership of the State Parliamentary Labor Party, in the event tha an election is required.”

Can Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan see off what looks like her toughest challenge yet?

Labor Party factional leaders have agreed the time has come for Ms Allan to go, according to briefings to Melbourne-based political reporters over the weekend.

Exactly how is not yet clear. If she refuses to resign, which would be in keeping with her personality, Labor MPs could vote her out in a private meeting known as the caucus on Tuesday.

Her first test will come at 11am when the Cabinet meets. It is reportedly going to consider creating a new agency within the Victorian police force to pursue organised crime. The agency is seen as a response to reports of CFMEU-linked corruption within the state’s infrastructure projects known as the Big Build.

Ms Allan has resisted huge media pressure to appoint a royal commission to investigate the reports, saying it would slow down the fight against corruption.

Her refusal to have a public inquiry is an example of her leadership style. In her two years and 303 days leading the state, Ms Allan has veered between pragmatism and obstinacy.

She hasn’t hesitated to throw money at voters when it is politically expedient. But when it comes to the CFMEU, one of the defining problems of her government, she has been reluctant to bow to public pressure.

With an election scheduled for November 28, the Labor Party knows it could face defeat after 12 years in office under the unpopular Ms Allan.

The electoral outlook is complicated by One Nation’s rise. Polls show similar levels of support for Labor, the Coalition and One Nation, suggesting a hung parliament is the distinct possibility.

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Liberal frontbencher Andrew Bragg has left the door open to a coalition between the Liberals and One Nation as the right-wing populist party’s polling starts to sour, stating the Liberals would be “pragmatic” about alliance building.

The opposition housing spokesman was repeatedly pressed on a possible future alliance between the Liberals, Nationals, and One Nation on Monday.

Senator Bragg initially dismissed questions of a preference deal between the Coalition and Pauline Hanson’s party and talk of a three-way coalition as too early to tell before the election.

“Well, we’ll work out if there needs to be a coalition, we’d work it out then,” he told the Today show.

However, pressed later if he was leaving the door open to a deal with One Nation, Senator Bragg said, “Well, we would definitely work out whoever would be interested in being in a coalition with us, if that’s what the numbers were. Of course, we’re not crazy.

​Read the full story here.​

After a tumultuous few weeks in the political spotlight, Pauline Hanson is set to learn the verdict in her racial discrimination appeal.

The One Nation leader is battling a 2024 Federal Court finding that she racially vilified Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi in a tweet posted shortly after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Senator Hanson’s tweet included telling Senator Faruqi to “p.ss off back to Pakistan”.

Her barrister told an appeals court in November that her remarks might not have been pleasant but they did not intimidate people of colour.

On Monday afternoon, the Full Court of the Federal Court will decide if the online attack did breach racial discrimination law.

The 72-year-old will be hopeful of a positive result after increased scrutiny on her overseas activities coincided with a drop in recent polls.

She has come under fire since returning from a European trip, where she was seen holidaying in Italy with billionaire donor Gina Rinehart.

Senator Hanson also met with anti-immigration activist and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson and told a conservative conference Australia had been flooded with migrants.

A Roy Morgan poll published on Tuesday showed her anti-immigration party’s primary vote dipped more than five percentage points to 22.5 per cent in the space of a week.

​Read more.​

The national AusAlert test will be sent simultaneously across Australia on Monday, July 27.

• ACT: 2pm AEST
• New South Wales: 2pm AEST
• Queensland: 2pm AEST
• Victoria: 2pm AEST
• Tasmania: 2pm AEST
• South Australia (including Broken Hill): 1.30pm ACST
• Northern Territory: 1.30pm ACST
• Western Australia: 12pm AWST
• Christmas Island: 11am CXT

If the AusAlert test occurs while you are operating a vehicle, the alert may also play through your vehicle’s speakers using Apple CarPlay, Android Auto or Bluetooth and may interrupt navigation or media like music or podcasts. It is important that you do not read or respond to the alert while operating a vehicle, as mobile phone laws still apply.

Read more.

Millions of Australians will receive a loud emergency alert on their mobile phones on Monday as part of the first nationwide test of the Federal Government’s new AusAlert system.

At the scheduled time, compatible mobile devices across Australia will sound a loud emergency siren lasting about 10 seconds.

Rather than arriving as a text message, the alert will appear as a large notification directly on a phone’s home screen.

Federal Minister for Emergency Management of Australia, Kristy McBain, said the message will clearly state the alert is only a test and that no action is required.

“There will be a siren that sounds on the 27th for 10 seconds.”

“You’ll get a notification on your home screen. So it no longer will come through the text message app of your phone.”

“It will say, ‘this is a test, we are testing AusAlert, you do not need to take any further action’.”

Tanya Plibersek was forced to defend Anthony Albanese’s attendance at a fundraising dinner hosted at a luxury Point Piper mansion, insisting the Prime Minister could not reasonably be expected to know the background of every person connected to events he attends.

The Prime Minister has faced mounting scrutiny after attending the intimate fundraiser at the $40 million Sydney harbourside home of the son of a Chinese billionaire accused by the Australian Taxation Office of tax deception.

Appearing on Sunrise on Monday, Ms Plibersek rejected suggestions Mr Albanese had failed to explain his attendance, after he faced criticism over his initial response to questions about the event.

She said attending business and fundraising events was a routine part of the Prime Minister’s job and argued it was unrealistic to expect exhaustive background checks before every function.

“He’s the Prime Minister. He goes to dinners every night of the week just about, and he meets with people all the time. It is actually part of the job.”

Ms Plibersek also stressed the businessman at the centre of the controversy was not present at the dinner.

“The guy that you’re talking about wasn’t at the dinner. It was at his son’s place, not him.”

​Read more.​

Nationals senator Matt Canavan says the Anthony Albanese fundraiser controversy “stinks”, calling on Labor to return any donations linked to the family behind the luxury Point Piper event.

Senator Canavan said the controversy raised serious questions about the Prime Minister’s judgment, arguing Labor should reject or return any donation connected to the fundraiser.

“At the very least here, the Prime Minister needs to explain why he didn’t know these issues,” Senator Canavan said.

“Apparently, he said he didn’t know these issues. Well, it’s at least a very big failing of his office not to properly assess and do due diligence on the people he’s going to meet at someone’s house.”

Senator Canavan said handing back the money would be the quickest way to restore public confidence.

“What the Labor Party should clearly do here is just give back the money, or not take the donation. I’m not sure the status of it, but just don’t take it.”

“That would help restore integrity and respect in the Prime Minister’s office.”

He also questioned why Labor’s electoral funding reforms would not begin immediately if the Government believed the changes were necessary.

“If these laws that Tanya just spent minutes talking about are so good ... why don’t they come into effect now? Just don’t take this money.