Ballarat leaders keen to work with Premier Jacinta Allan on key projects

Jacinta Allan walked away from Labor's caucus meeting on Wednesday as the state's 49th premier.

"Twenty-four years ago, almost to the day, when I walked into this place as a much younger woman from regional Victoria, I never expected to have this length of service," she said.

The Bendigo East MP said housing was the top priority for the state, following last week's housing policy statement.

"The housing challenges are first and foremost in our mind as a government," she said.

"In many ways the hard work continues," she said.

Ms Allan acknowledged in the press conference after her leadership announcement, "having a premier regionally-based has not been common".

Between 2010 and 2014 she was Minister for Regional and Rural Development and travelled "to every corner of the state".

She said "it was one of the best roles" and hoped to continue this as premier.

"It shows regardless of your background this is a place that can give everyone a go."

Ms Allan said she had worked hard and respected her colleagues during her time as Bendigo East MP and this is how she will continue to operate as leader.

While there were murmurs other ministers would contest the state top leadership position, Ms Allan was officially unopposed for the role in the Labor leadership meeting, with Ben Carroll elected as deputy.

Committee for Ballarat chief executive Michael Poulton said strong leadership would be important as issues in the region were tackled.

"Stability in government is really important for entire communities," he said.

"Governments can become very distracted by short-term election cycles if they don't have that level of stability that the Andrews government have enjoyed over the last 10 years or so."

Ms Allan said there would be more details in the coming weeks with policy outlines and shuffling of ministerial portfolios.

Mr Poulton said Committee looked forward to working with the new premier to ensure promised projects were delivered, especially the package announced after the cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

"We welcomed the then-deputy premier's comments regarding the government commitment to legacy investment in Ballarat," he said.

"We look forward to working with her and her government to see the projects delivered, especially housing, the station upgrade an the sporting facilities."

Upgrades to make the Ballarat's station disability-compliant were announced in October 2022.

There have been no further updates from the state government on what stage this project is at or a timeline for the release of the overpass designs.

A tender process has started for the new animal shelter facility funded in the 2021/22 budget, while another 500 cark parks are still waiting to be delivered from a 2018 election promise.

A slate of women's health improvements are also in the pipeline following commitments from the 2022 election.

Ms Allan is the state's second female premier following Joan Kirner's election in the early 1990s.

"I hope it says to women ... that leadership takes on different shapes and sizes and women have a place as leaders in our community," she said.

"There is a place for women at every single decision-making table in every single organisation around this state."

Victoria's west is well-represented with female politicians in leadership positions.

Both Ms Allan and federal Ballarat MP Catherine King have spoken to The Courier about their friendship and partnership between Canberra and Spring Street.

Eureka MP Michaela Settle said in a statement Ms Allan understood what mattered for the region.

"Our incredible educational, regional development and infrastructure outcomes under her leadership speak for itself," she said.

"Having had the privilege of working closely with Jacinta for the past five years, I am proud to call her a good friend."

Ms Settle said she looked forward to working on the housing statement and delivering a lower cost of living with the new premier.

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