Analysis: Annastacia Palaszczuk’s cunningly timed exit changes everything

Labor desperately needed a new face to fight next October’s election and Steven Miles, the man most likely, faces a herculean task, writes Hayden Johnson.

Annastacia Palaszczuk’s cunningly timed resignation changes everything.

Labor desperately needed a new face to fight the October election and Steven Miles, who right now is likely to be Queensland’s 40th premier, faces a herculean task to win it.

For an increasingly confident LNP, Sunday’s announcement was the worst possible news.

It had banked on fed-up Queenslanders licking their lips to boot the out-of-touch, red carpet Premier in October.

Now though, there might be a closer contest if Labor’s next leader hits the ground running.

Mr Miles – or the roughie Shannon Fentiman – must wipe the slate clean with a deep ministerial reshuffle and end the chaos surrounding the 2032 Olympic Games.

The next leader must not repeat Ms Palaszczuk’s Games power grab and instead establish an independent infrastructure authority to deliver transport and infrastructure benefits.

Labor MPs will gather on Friday to chose a new leader with one eye on their factional allegiances and the other on their hope of winning the election in 10 months.

Perception is everything in politics. Mr Miles has tried desperately to ditch the “giggles” image that made him a polarising figure during the Covid-19 pandemic when he famously tore up an invoice from the NSW government and then swore at Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

While he is undoubtedly the frontrunner, some Labor MPs fear voters have already made up their minds about Mr Miles and are giving serious thought to whether Ms Fentiman would have a better chance defeating the formidable LNP leader David Crisafulli.

It’s this consideration which underlines how Ms Palaszczuk’s exit was timed to have maximum political effect.

Amid the tears on Sunday morning, she broke an eight-year silence to endorse a successor, describing Mr Miles as an “excellent premier”.

Her resignation hindered the ambitions of Ms Fentiman as she edged further into Labor’s leadership frame and was an explosive take-down of Treasurer Cameron Dick, who although holds great ambitions, simply doesn’t have the numbers.

Ms Fentiman on Sunday sent out proxies to count her votes, but a perceived lack of leadership experience is expected to see her fall short.

In her true style, Ms Palaszczuk avoided the glare of the parliamentary media gallery and used a quiet Sunday press conference to reveal she would go.