Four newcomers were elevated to the Victorian Labor government's cabinet on Tuesday, replacing retiring ministers Mary-Anne Thomas, Danny Pearson, Gayle Tierney and Natalie Hutchins.
Kororoit MP Luba Grigorovitch, Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke, Eureka MP Michaela Settle and Box Hill MP Paul Hamer were elected unopposed after factional negotiations.
Ms Grigorovitch, the former state secretary of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, won support from the party's right for one of the vacancies.
Her elevation has come under scrutiny over her working relationship with Setka, who was charged in November with sending threatening emails to a staff member from the union's administrator.
Ms Grigorovitch thanked the then Victorian CFMEU boss in her inaugural speech in 2023 and later that year he attended her wedding at Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula.
She said she had "no regrets whatsoever" about her friendship with Setka.
"I was a union secretary for close to 10 years and that was a very proud time during my career," Ms Grigorovitch told reporters on Tuesday.
"I'm not walking away. I don't ditch my mates when things get tough, but I haven't spoken to John in a very long time."
Shadow attorney-general James Newbury said Ms Grigorovitch didn't pass the "character test" to be a minister.
"How could (Premier) Jacinta Allan think that the CFMEU star recruit, a member of parliament who brought John Setka onto the floor of parliament, was fit to be a minister," he said.
Labor's left swung in behind Mr Edbrooke, Ms Settle and Mr Hamer, who secured the final cabinet spot over Mordialloc MP Tim Richardson.
Mr Edbrooke is arguably best known for surviving a skydiving plane crash in 2023, Ms Settle once owned and operated her family's Ararat sheep farm and Mr Hamer previously worked as an engineer.
None of the four MPs have previously served in cabinet.
Ms Thomas, Mr Pearson, Ms Tierney and Ms Hutchins collectively boasted more than 30 years of frontbench experience.
The premier will shuffle roles as she seeks to steer Labor to a fourth successive term in power, a feat the party has never accomplished in Victoria.
Monash University politics expert Zareh Ghazarian suggested ministerial renewal would guard against a prevailing narrative the almost 12-year government had become "stale".
"When you've got high-profile ministers that have decided to call time, it takes a lot of collective memory away from the party room," Dr Ghazarian told AAP.
"But it opens the door for Jacinta Allan to have new faces ... it can be a blessing in disguise."
Despite the brain drain, Dr Ghazarian pointed out Victorian Labor managed an exodus of senior ministers before winning the 2022 election.
The Allan government's new cabinet will be announced and sworn in on Wednesday at Government House.
13°C