Acting Queensland Premier Steven Miles has rejected speculation Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is losing support from senior ministers and risks being ousted before the next election.
Key points:
- Speculation is building about the political future of Queensland's premier, who has been in office for eight years
- Annastacia Palaszczuk's government is under fire for overriding the Human Rights Act
- New laws to address capacity issues allow police to hold youth offenders in watch house and adult prisons
Palaszczuk, who is currently on holidays overseas, has come under pressure in recent days due to her handling of new legislation that allows police to hold youth offenders in watch houses and adult prisons for extended periods.
When asked if he had ambitions to be premier, Mr Miles said on Sunday, "I'm very, very happy being the deputy premier. Annastacia is doing a fantastic job as premier and I'm very pleased to support her."
On Saturday, Energy Minister Mick de Brenni also said Ms Palaszczuk had the full support of the Labor Party.
"The whole team has their support behind Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk," he said.
"Shannon [Fentiman], Steven [Miles], myself and every other member of the Labor caucus has our full support behind the premier."
Slipping in polls
However, questions are being asked about the premier's future after recent polling showed she was losing support more than a year out from the October 2024 vote.
A Resolve Strategic poll last week put LNP leader David Crisafulli marginally ahead of Ms Palaszczuk as preferred premier, as personal support for the Labor leader slumped.
Paul Williams, a political scientist at Griffith University, said the polling indicates that Ms Palaszczuk is becoming a political liability.
"David Crisafulli, who only 12 months ago was relatively unknown in the electorate, he is actually polling as preferred premier, which is a very unusual thing," said Dr Williams.
"That suggests to me that Labor's problem is not just about the party, but also the premier."
Mr Crisafulli appeared to distance himself from the ructions on Sunday but used the speculation to talk up the benefits of a possible LNP government.
"We hear about backstabbing, undermining and infighting; Queenslanders just want someone fighting for them and we want to be that voice for them," he said.
Unlike federal politics, where hostile takeovers of poor performing prime ministers are relatively common, Labor Party rules in Queensland make it difficult to oust a sitting premier.
Dr Williams predicted the premier's colleagues would likely ask her to make a difficult decision for the sake of the party before the end of the year.
"I think the most likely scenario is the faction leaders will tap Annastacia Palaszczuk on the shoulder and say, 'look, you can't lead Labor to victory in Queensland, but look at the polling, one of these other candidates can. It's time that you stepped down'."
Leadership contenders
Likely contenders for the top job from the right faction include Treasurer Cameron Dick and from the left, Mr Miles and Health Minister Ms Fentiman.
"Given the left is in control of the caucus, the cabinet and the conference, it looks as though it's got to be, on basic arithmetic, someone from the left," said Dr Williams.
The Palaszczuk government came under heavy criticism this week after rushing through controversial new youth detention laws.
Police Minister Mark Ryan said the changes, which will allow watch houses and adult prisons to be used as youth detention centres, were needed to address "immediate capacity" issues.
The harsher laws followed protests in Brisbane on Wednesday that saw hundreds marching to Parliament House calling for stronger government action on youth crime.
Advocates said the measures wouldn't do anything to address the underlying causes of youth crime, while the LNP and Greens accused the government of ignoring democratic process.
Katter's Australian Party leader Robbie Katter said he was "insulted" by the way the amendments had been presented to parliament.
At the time, Mr Miles conceded there was internal pushback to the legislation and said he would take on board "if there are ways it could have been done better".
And on Sunday, as leadership speculation grew, Mr Miles said there would always be "rumours and gossip," but the strength of the current Queensland government was its stability.
"You've all written us off, every election cycle, but come election time, we've been able to demonstrate to Queenslanders that we are the best team to serve them, and that's precisely what we intend to do," he said.
Only time will tell who will lead Labor to the polls.
And with Ms Palaszczuk away for two more weeks, Mr Miles will have plenty of opportunity to showcase his leadership skills and firm up support.
"I hope you all think I make a good deputy premier, I work hard at the job, I love that job and I'd like to keep doing it," Mr Miles said.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiUWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIzLTA4LTI3L3FsZC1wYWxhc3pjenVrLXBvbGl0aWNhbC10dXJtb2lsLzEwMjc4MTg0MtIBKGh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMDI3ODE4NDI?oc=5
2023-08-27 07:29:53Z
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