Ben Carroll to fill one of three vacancies in Victorian cabinet, ABC understands

The ABC reports Ben Carroll will only fill one of the three vacancies in Victorian cabinet following former premier Jacinta Allan's resignation. Harriet Shing and Lily D Ambrosio announced their retirements after Allan's departure. Tim Richardson is expected to assume Allan's position after caucus meets on Monday. The meeting aimed to discuss the three vacant positions left after Allan's resignation last week.

Allan decided to step down before an expected spill motion she was favored to lose, which was announced on Tuesday. Allan's resignation came just 24 hours after she confirmed she would contest any leadership ballot. Chaos erupted during a caucus meeting to elect a new leader after Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny volunteered for the role, leading to a broader vote involving party members.

However, Ben Carroll was unanimously elected as premier, averting a lengthy vote process. Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams was elected deputy premier. Shing, a close ally of Allan, and D Ambrosio, Australia's longest-serving energy and climate minister, also resigned from cabinet days after Allan's announcement.

Health Minister Shing was a long-time ally of Allan, while D Ambrosio had served in the role for the longest time. Their departures left Carroll with the task of filling just one of the three positions in cabinet. Carroll had promised Allan's spot to Tim Richardson, who is expected to be elevated during the meeting. Richardson, a Mordialloc MP, had been a government advisor before entering parliament more than a decade ago and was recently promoted to cabinet secretary.

The three vacant positions were in the Socialist Left faction, which has been severely weakened after the recent events. The Socialist Left, once dominant within Labor's factions, was home to former premier Daniel Andrews.