Analysis: Mark Bailey moves into shadow health portfolio but is it a poisoned chalice?

He was known as “blowout Bailey” due to several project cost overruns that made him a target to the LNP but his return to shadow health minister is a calculated, writes Taylah Fellows.

Former Queensland premier Steven Miles and former State Transport Minister Mark Bailey - now in opposition. Picture: Dan Peled

• Meet Labor’s shadow cabinet

Mark Bailey’s re-emergence in a portfolio as critical as Health is a calculated move by Opposition Leader Steven Miles, signalling that Labor is aiming to leverage all hands on deck—even if some of those hands come with baggage.

Once known as “blowout Bailey” due to several project cost overruns that made him a target for now-Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie and his LNP colleagues and earned him a stint on the political sidelines, Mr Bailey’s new appointment as Shadow Minister for Health, Ambulance Services, and Mental Health marks a dramatic return.

Whether strategic or contentious, it will be viewed by some as a poisoned chalice.

His past missteps now hang over his head as he prepares to go head-to-head with Health Minister Tim Nicholls in what will likely become a focal point for Labor’s critique of the government’s healthcare policies and Premier David Crisafulli to account on his major commitment to reduce ambulance ramping below 30 per cent.

In a cabinet filled with pointed match-ups, Mr Miles has chosen to prioritise character over expertise, with former Small Business Minister Lance McCallum now tasked with the energy portfolio.

Now Opposition Leader Steven Miles with counterparts Shannon Fentiman and Mark Bailey. Mark Bailey Picture David Clark

He and Shannon Fentiman are set to challenge Treasurer David Janetzki from the Treasury and energy portfolios, respectively as Labor makes an transparent signal of its intent to take the LNP to task over its economic management and sustainability commitments, aligning with broader public concerns over cost-of-living pressures and energy prices it campaigned for during the election.

Opposition Deputy Leader Cameron Dick’s match-up against Bleijie himself, in Development and Infrastructure, will create an inevitable show showdown between the strong-headed deputy leaders, while Meaghan Scanlon was awarded an extensive brief after her successful Gaven victory that allowed Labor to keep its only red seat on the Gold Coast.

Experienced MP Grace Grace was also offered a swath of portfolios.

But while former backbenchers Tom Smith, Corrine McMillan, Joan Pease and Linus Power all got a guernsey, former police minister Mark Ryan and energy minister Mick de Brenni were promptly booted from the inner circle.

Mr Miles insists it was due process, not punishment. Others may connect his decision to remove two surviving ministers with the LNP’s successful crime campaign under the guise of Ryan and the colossal Callide fallout under de Brenni that arguably helped catapult Crisafulli’s team (and some) to election for the third time in 35 years.

Regardless, the new Opposition team will have to find its feet quickly if it wants to break the ground.