Premier gives thanks to her everlasting gift: the Liberal Party
It is the winter recess of state parliament, when Victorian politics shifts down a gear and the busiest woman in the state can afford a few days off to rest and reflect. Allan is dressed for the weekend, with a well-worn hi-viz vest paired with her favourite jeans.
I lace up the boots and through my protective goggles, take in our surrounds. The premier's home is light and airy, with family portraits hung on one side of the hall and a striking, black and white image of a tunnel boring machine on the other.
In the kitchen, Allan's husband Yorick is wrestling with an espresso machine. He takes off his hard hat, wipes his brow and grumbles something about four more years. Allan laughs.
'Alas, poor Yorick,' she says. 'When I took this job I assured him that, given what Labor had done to Victoria's finances, there was no way we'd get re-elected. Now it looks like I'll be doing this for as long Dan!'
Loading
The premier leans in conspiratorially. 'Let me show you why.'
Allan leads us through the backdoor to the rest of her property. It is a peaceful setting, with towering gumtrees and graceful acacia. One of her dogs emits a low growl, reminding me to zip up my hi-viz.
As we walk down a gravel path, we come across Allan's two children in matching boots and hard hats, one carrying a hydraulic jackhammer and the other a set of blueprints. 'They are on school holidays and doing some early works,' she says. 'Won't see them 'til smoko.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Sydney Morning Herald
20 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Critical' children's commissioner role ‘needs to be filled with urgency'
The critical role of Commissioner for Children and Young People must be filled urgently, the Victorian government says, despite leaving the role vacant for more than three months before the state's most serious childcare safety crisis erupted. Deputy Premier and Education Minister Ben Carroll also said the state's rapid review into the childcare sector would look into the government's failure to heed the former commissioner's warnings on child sexual abuse over several years. This masthead revealed on Wednesday that Victoria's former commissioner for children and young people, Liana Buchanan, had long predicted in her warnings to the government that the continued underfunding of a vital oversight scheme administered by the Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) would result in the abuse of children. Substantiated allegations the man at the centre of Melbourne's childcare crisis, Joshua Brown, had acted violently toward children in his care were reported to the Reportable Conduct Scheme for review but were not escalated to a suspension of his working with children check. Brown now stands accused of abusing eight preschoolers at a Point Cook childcare centre in 2022 and 2023, with more allegations being investigated in a case that has prompted authorities to call for thousands of children to be tested for sexually transmitted infections. Responding on Wednesday morning to revelations about Buchanan's warnings, Carroll said the rapid review, led by former South Australian premier Jay Weatherill, will 'look at everything'. 'My understanding is that they will look at everything,' Carroll said. 'Lizzie Blandthorn, the minister for children, the premier, have all said we're going to implement all the recommendations, and if it does include changes to the system around families, children, the reportable conduct scheme, for example, yes, certainly we'll accept those recommendations and make those changes.'

The Age
20 minutes ago
- The Age
‘Critical' children's commissioner role ‘needs to be filled with urgency'
The critical role of Commissioner for Children and Young People must be filled urgently, the Victorian government says, despite leaving the role vacant for more than three months before the state's most serious childcare safety crisis erupted. Deputy Premier and Education Minister Ben Carroll also said the state's rapid review into the childcare sector would look into the government's failure to heed the former commissioner's warnings on child sexual abuse over several years. This masthead revealed on Wednesday that Victoria's former commissioner for children and young people, Liana Buchanan, had long predicted in her warnings to the government that the continued underfunding of a vital oversight scheme administered by the Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) would result in the abuse of children. Substantiated allegations the man at the centre of Melbourne's childcare crisis, Joshua Brown, had acted violently toward children in his care were reported to the Reportable Conduct Scheme for review but were not escalated to a suspension of his working with children check. Brown now stands accused of abusing eight preschoolers at a Point Cook childcare centre in 2022 and 2023, with more allegations being investigated in a case that has prompted authorities to call for thousands of children to be tested for sexually transmitted infections. Responding on Wednesday morning to revelations about Buchanan's warnings, Carroll said the rapid review, led by former South Australian premier Jay Weatherill, will 'look at everything'. 'My understanding is that they will look at everything,' Carroll said. 'Lizzie Blandthorn, the minister for children, the premier, have all said we're going to implement all the recommendations, and if it does include changes to the system around families, children, the reportable conduct scheme, for example, yes, certainly we'll accept those recommendations and make those changes.'


West Australian
20 minutes ago
- West Australian
Australian government's huge move on Queen Elizabeth II
Parliament has returned with big changes to the way the government conducts its business, including a new change to how it references the royals. The way that the parliament goes about its work in the House of Representatives is governed by 'standing orders'. Now, those orders have been amended to remove all references to Queen Elizabeth II – even though it's been almost three years since the Queen's death. As the British monarch is Australia's head of state, they are mentioned alongside their representative, the Governor-General, in the standing orders. Labor minister and leader of the House Tony Burke moved an amendment to the standing orders on Wednesday morning that would replace mentions of Queen Elizabeth II with King Charles III. The Queen was referenced at least 15 times in the standing orders, but all of those mentions will now be taken over by her successor. Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022, aged 96. Liberal Party manager of opposition business Alex Hawke accepted the change but said he was 'reluctant' to do so. 'I will say upfront as a lifelong constitutional monarchist and a great supporter of our constitutional monarchy and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, we are still in my view in the official mourning period,' Mr Hawke said. 'We do accept, reluctantly, the changes to remove all references to the Queen from the standing orders and replace them with the sovereign.' He called it a 'reluctant but necessary change'. Other changes to standing orders include how long parliamentarians can be ejected from the house and how votes are recorded.