Editorial: As things stand, Labor is cooked

Steven Miles has also not been able to recast his own public persona as a confident leader, writes the editor.

Premier Steven Miles had one job when taking the big chair last December: to differentiate his administration from that of his predecessor Annastacia Palaszczuk’s.

He has methodically done so – changing policy after policy as he seeks to chart a different course to win back those half a million or so voters who have turned their back on Labor since the October 2020 election.

However, most voters do not pay attention to policy – particularly outside an election campaign. For them, it’s all about the vibe.

And the unfortunate thing for Premier Miles is that the vibe is not good.

By the end, the Palaszczuk government was a mess – an administration that lurched from stuff up to crisis, with an apparent leadership and vision vacuum.

Despite his best efforts, Mr Miles has not yet been able to successfully present a better alternative.

His government has continued to lurch from own goal to own goal; this week’s as-yet-unexplained private jet caravan tour being just the latest example.

Mr Miles himself has also not been able to recast his own public persona as a confident leader. His natural shyness and honesty do not help, and neither have the often-clunky pre-prepared lines he is being fed by his army of minders.

It should not be a surprise, then, that today’s YouGov poll suggests voters – having had a look over summer – have now decided the Miles government is just more of the same.

Beyond the headline figure – a devastating result – that fewer voters are satisfied with the way Premier Miles is doing his job than they were with Ms Palaszczuk in October is, to say the least, not good.

Equally, it will be a serious concern for Labor strategists that Opposition Leader David Crisafulli’s lead in the preferred premier stakes has blown out from two points over Ms Palaszczuk in October to 13 over Mr Miles in April.

But the most telling result of this poll is the new record low in the key election-defining question of whether the state is heading in the right or the wrong direction.

A majority of Queenslanders now think we are on the wrong track, for the first time since May 2011.

The net-negative result of -28 per cent is the worst ever in the history of YouGov polling, a history that stretches beyond the Newman era and the 2012 Bligh Labor wipeout.

This election is clearly now Mr Crisafulli’s to lose. As things stand, state Labor is cooked.

That is why it is so critical that Mr Crisafulli levels with the people of Queensland and explains in more detail about the type of government he will lead – and his vision for the state.

This polling shows he could well sail into office on the back of voter dissatisfaction with Labor.

But that would be to treat the people of Queensland as mugs.

SO MUCH MORE TO BE DONE

It’s the statistic that has rightly shocked the nation – one woman has been violently killed every four days in Australia so far this year.

The federal government will now arm courts, police, health and social service workers with a new assessment tool to help them accurately determine the risk level posed by a domestic violence perpetrator, in the hopes it will better protect women from abuse.

It’s a $2.4m framework. While it is not a lot of money, anything to combat the scourge of domestic violence is welcome.

In Queensland, there have been well-documented issues within the justice system of women not being believed.

Women turning up to police stations and being turned away, or attempting to get a domestic violence order through the courts in vain, only to be killed days or weeks later.

There is still work to do to remedy this appalling situation. A national framework – something that is not subjective and has clear guidelines and outcomes, could make a difference.

Currently, it appears the framework will be used to refer perpetrators to behavioural change programs.

There needs to be a mechanism to ensure potential perpetrators attend these programs. Otherwise, what is the use?

Time will tell if it is effective, but some action is better than none.

Something the government must also move on is ensuring the escaping violence payment is funded in the upcoming budget.

As of April there have been 13,385 domestic and family violence survivors in NSW, 10,843 in Victoria. 11,826 in Queensland and 2562 in South Australia who have gained access to the payment since a trial of the program first began in October 2021.

Funding it again in the May budget is a no-brainer.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here