Steven Miles says Annastacia Palaszczuk best person to lead Labor to next state election

Steven Miles insists Labor’s best shot at retaining government at next year’s state election is with Annastacia Palaszczuk.

Acting Premier Steven Miles insists Labor’s best shot at retaining government at next year’s state election is with Annastacia Palaszczuk at the helm as leadership speculation continues to swirl.

Mr Miles, who is viewed as most likely to assume the party leadership if the Premier steps aside, faced a barrage of questions for the second day when he fronted media alongside another highly touted leadership contender – Health Minister Shannon Fentiman.

Both the senior Labor figures said they had not spoken to the Premier since she jetted to Europe over the weekend as scrutiny zeroed-in on Ms Palaszczuk’s wilting support among party colleagues and surveyed voters.

Acting Premier Steven Miles and Health Minister Shannon Fentiman held a joint media conference in Brisbane on Monday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Scott Powick

But the Acting Premier shrugged off speculation and concerns about the party’s prospects at next year’s election, declaring “we’ve been ruled out every single time”.

“Every single time, at this stage of the electoral cycle, people have said there’s no way we could win and we have gone on to win I think in large part because of that unity, stability and leadership.”

When asked if he believed Ms Palaszczuk was the best leadership option to retain government, Mr Miles said “I think so”.

“She’s somebody who Queenslanders know well – they’ve known her for a long time.

“Her team is strong and united and stable behind her leadership, and that has been a hallmark of our government in the eight-years that we’ve been in government.”

Both Mr Miles and Ms Fentiman are widely considered to be leadership contenders as prominent figures from the dominant Left faction.

It is understood Mr Miles would likely seek to form a leadership ticket with the Health Minister as his deputy – a scenario that would require the backing of the swing-vote Old Guard faction that is now allied with the United Workers Union boss Gary Bullock.

Mr Miles asked if the two presenting for a media opportunity the first weekday after Ms Palaszczuk’s absence was a dress rehearsal for a joint leadership ticket, he said “not at all”.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is on an overseas holiday with her partner Reza Adib. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

“This was always the intention to do this announcement together today,” the Acting Premier said.

When asked if he thinks Ms Fentiman would make a good deputy, further alluding to the possibility of the two presenting as a leadership ticket, Mr Miles dodged the question by endorsing her current role.

“She’s doing a great job as Health Minister,” he said.

“Obviously I know a lot of the people she’s now working with and they all tell me she’s doing a fantastic job.”

When asked about her potential as premier, Mr Miles, again, said: “I think she’s an excellent Health Minister and I know she’s loving that job just as I am loving being Deputy Premier”.

Reports over the weekend in The Courier-Mail and The Australian revealed concerns among senior Labor figures about Ms Palaszczuk’s prospects of leading the party to re-election, but Ms Fentiman voiced her support for the leader and said the Premier has been “constantly underestimated her entire political career”.

“She wasn’t expected to win in 2015 and look at what we’ve gone on to achieve since then,” the Health Minister said.

“She was the first Premier in the country to have 50 per cent women sitting around the cabinet table, she steered us through the covid pandemic (through) really strong leadership and withstood a whole lot of criticism from sections of the community.”