Inala by-election date: March 16 confirmed as date to decide former premier’s seat

A by-election for former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s seat of Inala will be held on the same day as the March council elections, with Opposition Leader David Crisafulli criticising the wait.

A by-election for former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s seat of Inala will be held on the same day as the March council elections, with Opposition Leader David Crisafulli slamming the two-month wait as “insulting”.

Premier Steven Miles said he had taken the advice of the Electoral Commission to hold the by-election – sparked by Ms Palaszczuk’s surprise December resignation – on March 16.

He also confirmed policy adviser Margie Nightingale would be Labor’s candidate for the seat.

Ms Nightingale had emerged as the frontrunner after the party’s affirmative action rules had essentially ruled out Ms Palaszczuk’s former Deputy Chief of Staff Jon Persley, who had long been tipped to succeed the Premier.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announcing her retirement.

“I asked the state secretary to make sure that our candidate was a local, a woman and someone with community experience, and Margie is all of those things,” Mr Miles said.

The Palaszczuk name had held the electorate – Labor’s safest Queensland seat – for more than three decades.

Ms Palaszczuk was elected in 2006 following the retirement of her father and former minister Henry, who had held the seat since 1992.

“I’d like to thank the Palaszczuks for their enormous contribution, and for their decades of hard work which have made Inala a better place,” Mr Miles said.

“They have supported the people of an Inala through good times and bad, and so I want to thank both Annastacia and Henry for everything that they have done.”

But Mr Crisafulli seized on the announcement, and said holding the by-election in March – close to three months since Ms Palaszczuk’s resignation came into effect, was “quite frankly, insulting”.

Annastacia Palaszczuk with her father Henry.

“The former premier has been out of office for a long time, and for the government to suggest that the people of Inala shouldn’t get the chance to be represented in that parliament until into March – that just doesn’t make sense,” he said.

The Opposition Leader also said the LNP would have a candidate, but said the party was “under no illusions” how difficult the seat would be to win.

“I do have a view though that every Queenslander should have the right to vote for change,” he said.

“And I say to the community, for you to be left without any form of representation in the parliament for so long and for multiple sittings of parliament, it says everything you need to know about the way that the state Labor Party treat that area.”