A Big Build royal commission helped Ben Carroll become premier. Will it be his downfall?

Two weeks of public hearings will begin on Monday morning, right in the middle of the state election campaign

The commitment that made Ben Carroll premier may ultimately cost him the election.

On Monday morning, right in the middle of a state election campaign, the royal commission into Victoria’s Big Build will begin two weeks of public hearings.

For Labor, this is the worst possible timing. It wants to be talking about anything other than allegations of corruption and criminal infiltration of government projects. For the Coalition, it is a gift they will exploit.

Carroll – whose campaign bus is splashed with the words “new premier, new direction” – will face sustained questions about the actions of his predecessors and a past he wants to move away from.