Peter Gleeson: Labor needs tough stance to avoid KO

The political poll published in The Courier-Mail on Saturday was the worst result I’ve seen for an incumbent state government. Annastacia Palaszczuk must act quickly, and her first priority should be obvious, writes Peter Gleeson.

WHEN champion boxer Jeff Horn strode onto the stage to introduce premier Annastacia Palaszczuk at Labor’s 2017 election launch, it was a master stroke by ALP strategists.

Just a few months earlier, Horn had orchestrated one of the greatest moments in Australian sporting history, winning the world title against the legendary Filipino, Manny Pacquiao, at a packed Suncorp Stadium.

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It was a win for the ages and Horn was the toast of the nation. The optics of his presence at the Labor launch was compelling for Labor.

There was an irresistible and vote-pulling message attached to a kid who had been bullied at school — going on to a fairytale world champion boxing win — helping Australia’s first elected female premier to another poll victory.

Jeff Horn with his WBO World Welterweight belt poses with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in 2017. Picture: Jono Searle/Getty Images

That was just 21 months ago. Since then, much has changed. Horn has lost his world title and on Saturday night suffered his first loss on Australian soil, knocked out in the ninth round by Michael Zerafa in Bendigo.

Palaszczuk has presided over a Labor Government that has been mediocre at best and is now engulfed in the greatest integrity crisis since former Labor health Minister Gordon Nuttall was jailed for corruption in 2009.

Legacy is an over-hyped word in both politics and sport. But for Horn and Palaszczuk, legacy is not only important but it will define them into the future.

If Horn was to retire today, his legacy as a true champion, not only in the ring but outside of the ropes, is firmly intact.

Humble, self-deprecating and intelligent, he is a role model to every kid that has ever been bullied at school. Horn has overcome enormous odds to claim his place as one of Australia’s true sporting heroes. Whatever his next move, he is a class act.

Palaszczuk can also claim a justifiable place in the pantheon of Australian Labor icons. Her miracle win in 2015 over Campbell Newman was akin to Horn’s victory over Pacquiao — nobody saw it coming except for the true believers.

The problem for Palaszczuk is she is now well and truly on the ropes. The LNP is one good punch away from a knockout.

The integrity scandals centred on Deputy premier Jackie Trad and the premier’s chief of staff David Barbagallo are an enormous distraction from the day to day workings of a government.

The scandals are suffocating the government’s message on any meaningful policy reform, In fact, worse than that, they are characterising this government as dodgy.

The Courier Mail/ You Gov Galaxy poll published last Saturday was the worst result I’ve ever seen for an incumbent State Government. It was more than a fall from grace. It was a Humpty Dumpty moment and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men will surely struggle to put Humpty together again.

The decline in the primary vote and Ms Palaszczuk’s massive drop in personal popularity was a prescient reminder that politics is a fickle and lonely business.

Those polling figures were brutal and they would result in the LNP winning handsomely at the next election, due in 14 months.

It is clear that Ms Palaszczuk must lance the integrity boil. That means sending her deputy, Ms Trad, to the backbench to cool her heels.

Barbagallo must also be removed. Both will argue that they have done nothing wrong and legally that may be the case.

But perception in politics, as in life, is everything. And the public, via the Courier Mail poling, has provided the sternest possible warning to Labor.

That message is that Labor has lost its way, that it is so arrogant and out of touch with reality that its Ministers and senior aides are engaging in practices that simply don’t pass the pub test.

Electorally, it is poison. The regions, in particular, are waiting with baseball bats for Labor. Trad telling miners before the May 18 federal poll to “re-skill’’ was predicated on the false bravado that Bill Shorten would win the election.

Backbenchers from the Left faction are openly telling senior Ministers that Trad must go. There is internal Labor polling which shows that the ALP’s primary result is three percentage points better with Trad out of the public eye.

The polished performer, Kate Jones, must be appointed Deputy Premier. She is a ray of sunshine for Labor in a dark and gloomy period.

The reliable senior Cabinet Minister, Cameron Dick, must be appointed Treasurer. He is another of Labor’s few positive assets.

The Left faction will argue that Health Minister Steven Miles should get Treasury. But why would you reward a Minister who has constantly underperformed?

It’s time for the premier to ignore the factional bullying and union demands and do what is best for Queensland. Palaszczuk is a loyal person but it’s that strength that is now becoming a weakness. When the powerful CFMEU is calling for Trad’s head, it’s time for action.

If Palaszczuk turns her back on the factions and unions and demonstrates to Queenslanders that she is a leader, not a follower, there’s a chance for Labor.

But if she bows to the Left and compounds past mistakes by promoting mediocrity, it will reaffirm to voters that this is a government in crisis.

Townsville starts to warm up in early Spring. The blowtorch of State Parliament on Labor this week will make it even hotter.