Anthony Albanese to seek Palaszczuk’s advice on how to win back Qld

With pressure on his leadership, Anthony Albanese could use his “friend” Annastacia Palaszczuk as a secret weapon for Labor.

Under-pressure Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese will seek Queensland electoral advice from his “friend” Annastacia Palaszczuk as he tries to win back the state that turned its back on Federal Labor in 2019.

The Labor leader will hit the hustings for a six-day Queensland blitz from Saturday, his longest stint in the state since becoming leader.

But he would not offer a firm commitment to visit a coalmine before the next poll, which could be as early as August this year, saying he was happy to visit all workplaces and respect all workers.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese will hold a six-day Queensland blitz from Saturday. Picture: Gary Ramage/NCA NewsWire

The issue of coal and Adani presented a significant issue for Labor in the 2019 election, and was highlighted in the party’s federal poll post mortem.

The party holds just six seats at a Federal level, despite strong success at a state level, and nothing further north than Somerset.

In an interview with The Courier-Mail, Mr Albanese said the future of coal jobs will be “determined by the market”.

“The decisions about our export industry, in terms of coal mines, will be made in the board rooms of Tokyo or other international bodies,” he said.

“Labor is of a view, that the export of coal and other minerals is subject to the market. The job of government is to do environmental assessments and approvals.”

This week, Queensland Labor politicians Shayne Neumann and Senator Anthony Chisholm reiterated their calls for the Palaszczuk Government to approve the New Acland mine after it faced more court delays.

Mr Albanese said it would be up to the state government’s processes.

“My view of projects is, subject to environmental (approval) … then it should be a commercial decision,” he said.

Mr Albanese confirmed he would be seeking Queensland electoral advice from the Premier, whom he described as a long-time friend.

“We work together when we were both infrastructure ministers, so more than a decade ago we were worked together closely on projects in Queensland,” he said.

An Instagram post by Anthony Albanese with Annastacia Palaszczuk on in June 2019 ahead of the State of Origin NRL game in Brisbane. Picture: Instagram

“She’s a friend of mine, and I certainly will be as I did in December, met with Anastasia to get her advice.

“We speak regularly and she’s doing an outstanding job.”

He will also seek to use Ms Palaszczuk’s popularity as a political wedge against Mr Morrison, who has attempted a truce with the Premier.

“People will know that Scott Morrison during the Queensland election campaign, went up to Queensland and tried to tell Queenslanders what was good for them, and was critical of Annastacia’s actions in keeping Queenslanders safe,” Mr Albanese said.

Mr Morrison has been at pains to talk up his “good working relationship” with the premier, whose popularity remains strong.