Kingmaker Peter Wellington says he’ll be only one of many MPs in Parliament

HIS vote could change government, but kingmaker independent Peter Wellington says he’ll just be one of 89 MPs in the 55th Parliament.

Scene from the production 'Ben-Hur: The Stadium Spectacular' staged in 2006 in France. The same production is to be staged a...

HIS vote could change government, but kingmaker independent MP Peter Wellington is playing down his prominence in the 55th Queensland Parliament.

One week ago, the member for Nicklin signalled his support for a Palaszczuk government following her agreement to a 22-point plan.

After Labor leader Annastacia Palaszczuk’s visit to Government House yesterday, Mr Wellington’s vote will give Labor the ability to form minority government.

But Mr Wellington, who has served in Nicklin since 1998, yesterday played down the importance of his “kingmaker” role.

“I’m just one of 89 members of parliament,” he said. “I don’t want my profile getting bigger than Ben-Hur.”

In his first term in parliament, Mr Wellington helped then-premier Peter Beattie form a minority government.

Now in the same situation, Mr Wellington said he had made a “conscious decision” that Ms Palaszczuk and new LNP leader Lawrence Springborg would be the “key people in Queensland”.

“There will be a premier, there will be ministers, and I will be one of 89 members of Parliament,” he said.

He said it was too early to speculate on what role he would play within a Palaszczuk government, playing down talk he could be made Speaker.

“I’ve got no idea. That’s just a hypothetical at this stage,” Mr Wellington said.

To secure his agreement, Ms Palaszczuk agreed to 22 points, which included restoring the $1000 political donation declaration threshold, conducting an inquiry into donations, and two extra staff members for independent MPs.

The agreement included several points specific to Mr Wellington’s electorate of Nicklin, including reviewing parking issues at Nambour Hospital and prioritising an upgrade to Nambour railway station.

Investigating a bill of rights for Queensland is another issue the independent is pushing the incoming Labor government to implement.

The agreement also stipulated that Mr Wellington would withdraw his support if “there is evidence of gross fraud, misappropriation or like illegal activities”.

“If there’s any proposed changes to law in Queensland that impact on my electorate, I will vote on how those impact on my electorate,” he said last week.

According to Mr Wellington’s own website, as of the last sitting of Parliament, he had voted with the LNP 916 times, compared with 662 times with Labor.