Des Houghton: Labor’s Christmas pantomime fizzer

Queensland plays a kind of pineapple politics that must be baffling to those who don’t live here. And it is often perplexing for those of us who do.

Queensland plays a kind of pineapple politics that must be baffling to those who don’t live here. And it is often perplexing for those of us who do.

The swearing-in of the first Steven Miles cabinet at Government House was a good example. It resembled a Christmas pantomime for idiots. There was a lot of tinsel and baubles but all we got was Annastacia Palaszczuk’s failed cabinet in a new wrapping paper.

The portfolios where most of the troubles are were largely unchanged. Premier Miles’ expanded cabinet represents a multimillion-dollar hit to taxpayers who have watched their buying power shrink while MPs’ salaries soar.

Eight years ago, the Palaszczuk cabinet had 15 ministers. The Miles cabinet has 19 ministers who will each be paid more than $350,000, courtesy of a 4 per cent pay rise on July 1.

Newly elected Premier Steven Miles is sworn in as the new Queensland Premier by Governor Jeannette Young at Government House in Brisbane. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

The exact figures are still not entered into the members’ entitlements log on the parliamentary website. Costs will soar because each additional minister will need a new director-general, an assistant director-general, chiefs of staff, press secretaries and clerical staff. Their chief goal may not be to serve the people of Queensland but to help Labor win an impossible fourth term. And you’ll pay for it.

The new ministers have not distinguished themselves in any way as backbenchers.

Bart Mellish stumbled in his first speech as the new Transport Minister by heaping praise on his beleaguered predecessor, Mark Bailey.

With a swing to the LNP expected at the next election, Mellish will struggle to hold his seat of Aspley.

So, what good fortune it was for him to be given a higher profile, extra staff and more cash for his campaigning. Had Miles promoted Mellish simply to assist Labor’s election hopes, I wondered?

Newly elected Premier Steven Miles at Government House in Brisbane. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

I guess the same question could be asked of Nikki Boyd, who holds the nearby seat of Pine Rivers. After a lacklustre career as a backbencher, she now finds herself as the Minister for Fire and Disaster Recovery and the Minister for Corrective Services.

With polls showing Labor in decline, she has even less chance of being re-elected.

Another new minister, Lance McCallum, who holds the safe seat of Bundamba, had a not-insignificant role in the Mangocube scandal that blighted Bailey’s ministerial career.

Mangocube emails tabled in parliament show McCallum was a Sydney-based Electrical Trades Union official when, in 2015, he secretly advised Bailey of the names of various people on government boards that the union considered unsuitable because they were appointed by the Campbell Newman government.

McCallum had no historic connection to Bundamba that I can see and was parachuted into the seat after winning preselection against the CFMEU-backed Nick Thompson.

Some of the biggest winners in the reshuffle were the assistant ministers, whose salaries will soar past $244,000. Miles named eight of them.

Brittany Lauga, the Assistant Minister for Health, will struggle to hold her seat of Keppel.

Newly minted assistant ministers Ali King, in Pumicestone, Jimmy Sullivan, in Stafford, and Corrine McMillan, in Mansfield, will also struggle to hold their seats in the likely event of a swing to the LNP.

Newly elected Premier Steven Miles and Deputy Premier Cameron Dick with Governor Jeannette Young at Government House in Brisbane. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

Julieanne Gilbert, the new Assistant Minister for State Development, may even be in trouble in her seemingly safe seat of Mackay.

However, Palaszczuk’s departure will no doubt give Labor a sugar hit in the next poll. But it will be temporary.

Significantly, Miles did not tinker with Health and Police, where Shannon Fentiman and Mark Ryan are struggling with repairs.

Miles sounded just like Palaszczuk when he said: “I want Queenslanders to know that every single member of my government is on their side and will be working day and night to deliver a better Queensland.”

It is the same line that Palaszczuk was using for nearly 10 years.

Miles also spoke about “delivering better healthcare” and “keeping our communities safe”. More Palaszczuk.

As he spoke, new figures were being released showing Queensland has the worst ambulance-ramping record in the nation and that youth crime is still out of control.

In an answer to a question on notice in parliament, the government was forced to admit there were 124,518 hours of ramping for ambulance patients between January and September.

Then came disturbing crime figures from a report by the Children's Court of Queensland. It showed the number of stolen vehicles jumping 33 per cent, from 4685 to 6234. Meanwhile, assaults jumped 13 per cent, from 1726 to 1957, and robberies soared 15 per cent, from 491 to 563. Repeat offenders made up 20 per cent of all offenders.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said this showed Labor wasn’t tough on crime. “More and more Queens­landers are living in fear due to the spiralling youth crime crisis,” he said.