Victorian Health Minister Harriet Shing and Climate Change Minister Lily D’Ambrosio have resigned from cabinet and will not recontest the state election in November.

In a Facebook post, Shing said she had told Premier Ben Carroll on Tuesday afternoon she would no longer serve in cabinet and the parliament, hours after he was elevated as premier.

“It’s always been my view that we are custodians of these roles for the time that we have them, and it’s now time for me to pass these opportunities and obligations on to the next person,” Shing said.

“I have congratulated and wished Premier Carroll every success.

“He deserves the full support, solidarity, and respect of the cabinet, the caucus, and our entire labour movement as he takes the government forward and into the all-important contest against the Liberal Party and One Nation in November.”

D’Ambrosio and Shing were key backers of former premier Jacinta Allan and had her support in the face of the coup that ended her leadership.

First elevated to cabinet in the Brumby government in 2010, D’Ambrosio has been Energy Minister since 2014 and played a significant role in the state’s transition to renewable energy and its emission reduction targets.

Shing was elected in 2014 and elevated to the ministry in 2022, serving in portfolios including water, housing, the Suburban Rail Loop and most recently health.

Both from the Left, their departures from cabinet will mark a significant break from the Andrews and Allan eras.

Carroll confirmed both ministers’ resignations.

“Over many years of dedicated service, they have brought compassion, determination and a strong sense of purpose to their roles, delivering outcomes that have improved the lives of Victorians and strengthened the communities they represent,” he said.

“Lily D’Ambrosio has been at the forefront of Victoria’s response to climate change. Her leadership has made Victoria a national leader in renewable energy, driven ambitious emissions reduction targets and laid the foundations for a cleaner, more sustainable future. The progress Victoria has made towards achieving our climate change targets stands as one of her enduring legacies.”

Carroll is also seeking the help of one of Labor’s most respected political operatives, Julie Ligeti, to run his government through to the November election.

Ligeti, a former senior adviser in the Bracks government and chief of staff to former federal minister Brendan O’Connor and current federal Housing Minister Clare O’Neil who for a time was a housemate of Julia Gillard, has been approached to serve as the new Victorian leader’s chief of staff.

Her appointment is expected to be finalised in coming days.

Carroll will also announce changes to his cabinet on Monday. Two sources familiar with the new premier’s thinking said this would almost certainly involve appointing a new attorney-general to replace Sonya Kilkenny, the Jacinta Allan loyalist who unexpectedly challenged his elevation in a fractious caucus meeting on Tuesday.

The ministers who precipitated Tuesday’s spill by urging Allan to stand down – Colin Brooks, Ingrid Stitt, Anthony Carbines, Lizzie Blandthorn and Luba Grigorovitch – are first in line to benefit from the frontbench reshuffle.

Gabrielle Williams, the senior Left faction figure who led the delegation into Allan’s office on Monday, has already been sworn in as deputy premier and by convention will have her pick of portfolios.

Ligeti is well known to the two factional chiefs who helped orchestrate this week’s coup to topple Allan – former federal MPs Alan Griffin and Stephen Conroy.

As a veteran of one of Labor’s most successful state governments and a survivor of the Rudd-Gillard wars in Canberra, she has deep connections across the party and the broader labour movement.

She would join Carroll’s deputy chief of staff Bassel Tallal, an emerging political operative with strong ties to the party’s Right faction.

The appointment would also put Ligeti in charge of the Premier’s Private Office, with a staff of nearly 90 people, and make her responsible for administering the government’s political agenda for the four months between now and the November 28 election.

A source close to Carroll, speaking confidentially to The Age to discuss internal party matters, said the new premier hoped to complete the transition to his administration and shift into full campaign mode within three weeks.

Although Carroll has spent his first few days in power outlining the policy areas where his approach will differ from the Allan government’s – the establishment of a royal commission into the building industry, a more constructive relationship with business and tighter controls on the use of public money – his campaign focus will be on the same cost-of-living concerns Allan was seeking to address.

The government’s legislation to protect working-from-home rights in anti-discrimination law will not be withdrawn from parliament, despite business calls for the policy to be abandoned.

The fate of the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL), a project Carroll does not support, will be decided once his new cabinet examines the contracts the government is already committed to.

The abrupt change of Labor leaders, while angering and frustrating Allan’s supporters, has significantly altered the political contest in Victoria.

The Jess Wilson-led Coalition, which had promised to establish a royal commission into Big Build corruption and “pause and review” the SRL if elected, has been left momentarily discombobulated.

“I have never seen the Liberals this sad,” one senior Labor figure said. “Our best-case scenario before Monday was to save the furniture. Our best-case scenario now is to win.”

More on Victorian Labor:

• Building Bad:The $109 billion question that ultimately cost Jacinta Allan her career
• Work from home:Carroll faces dual union threats and calls to walk back WFH policy
• Opinion:Why some in federal Labor hoped Allan would cling on – and lose in November
• Watershed moment:SRL milestone looms as a thorny problem for Carroll – and the Coalition

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