Editorial: New Premier Steven Miles has passed first test

It is too early to make a judgment on Steven Miles’s natural-disaster-response skills, but so far he has hardly put a foot wrong, writes the editor.

It’s become an unfortunate rite of passage for Queensland premiers – dealing with a natural disaster, often within weeks or months of claiming the top job.

Wayne Goss had been leader for barely five months when Charleville was swamped by the highest floodwaters in its history, inundating 80 per cent of the town’s 1500 or so houses – “a full-scale disaster”, as Goss said at time.

Annastacia Palaszczuk had been sworn in as Premier less than a week earlier when category five Cyclone Marcia crossed the coast at Shoalwater Bay in February 2015, causing hundreds of millions of dollars’ damage. And now Steven Miles, who has barely had time to even sit in his new chair in the Premier’s office, has to deal with the catastrophic flooding in the wake of Cyclone Jasper.

Natural disasters present a unique and challenging balancing act for premiers and prime ministers. On the one hand, they quite properly have to try to boost morale and show true concern and sympathy for all those affected.

Prime minister Gough Whitlam badly dented his standing in Queensland by deciding not to visit Brisbane in the wake of the devastating 1974 flood.

But leaders also can’t be seen to be getting in the way or too obviously using the backdrop of flood-destroyed neighbourhoods for a cynical media opportunity.

Getting that right balance right can add real gravitas to a premier’s standing. Anna Bligh had been in the role for a little over three years when Tropical Cyclone Yasi – the biggest storm in Queensland’s history – struck, delivering the devastating 2011 floods.

Ms Bligh’s response to the crisis – detailed daily media briefings and a stirring speech declaring: “We are Queenslanders – we’re the people that they breed tough north of the border. We’re the ones that they knock down and we get up again” – brought her national attention. Despite that, it did not save her politically. Queenslanders were already angry at her for not telling them about asset sales, and had their baseball bats ready. She lost the next state election in 2012 in a landslide to the Campbell Newman-led LNP.

It is still far too early to make a judgment on new Mr Miles’s natural-disaster-response skills.

But so far, he has hardly put a foot wrong. His comments to date have been measured. He has quite rightly praised the local heroes who always emerge when disaster strikes – heroes such as Magoo, who evacuated people from rooftops with his helicopter and Gavin who rescued others clinging to trees in flood waters.

And Mr Miles has also had the good sense to steer away from cheap political pointscoring or blame-shifting, refusing to join in criticism of the Bureau of Meteorology and its too-late-to-be-useful weather warnings.

In fact, he defended the BOM, saying: “It couldn’t be predicted based on their observations and systems just how much rain would fall. They do the best they can”.

He also sensibly avoided linking this latest natural disaster to climate change – an increasingly common habit of left-leaning politicians, particularly those as passionate about it as Mr Miles is.

Instead, he noted: “There’s a lot about this weather event that is unusual and has never been seen before,” adding: “There’ll probably be some point in the future where we can talk about what’s driving those kinds of changes in weather patterns”.

In other words, he is sticking to focusing on the job at hand.

Mr Miles has already managed to get Anthony Albanese fully engaged. The Prime Minister attended a briefing at the Kedron Emergency Centre on Tuesday and will travel with Mr Miles to the far north tonight and tomorrow.

Mr Albanese clearly learnt the lesson of Mr Whitlam’s high-handed ways all those years ago – snub Queenslanders at your peril!

INSURANCE SCHEME IS BROKE – FIX IT

The Albanese government was elected last year – in part – on promises to help fight growing cost-of-living pressures.

If they are serious about that goal, they need to look at the $10bn cyclone reinsurance pool, which is clearly not fit for purpose.

Designed as a fund to prevent insurers from taking a hammering after cyclones – and being forced to raise premiums – the pool’s limitations have been exposed by the flooding caused by ex-tropical cyclone Jasper.

Fine print that the pool can only apply to damages incurred within 48 hours after a cyclone is downgraded to a tropical low means the vast flood damage we have witnesses since the weekend does not qualify.

These shortcomings were pointed out when the Morrison government introduced the scheme in 2022, but concerns were not acted upon. Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones should look to make changes as a matter of urgency. Aussies cannot afford another hike in insurance premiums.

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