Kate Jones rules out federal politics tilt after messy internal Labor jockeying
High-profile former Queensland minister Kate Jones has set the record straight on whether she will make a tilt at federal politics.
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High-profile former Queensland minister Kate Jones has officially ruled out a tilt at federal politics in the aftermath of messy internal Labor jockeying to install her in the Senate.
Ms Jones, a former state minister turned ARLC commissioner and Tech Council executive director, confirmed she would not put her hand up for the Senate or vie for the Greens-held federal seat of Brisbane.
She said she had thought about running for federal politics after being approached, but had decided to firmly pursue her corporate career.
The Senate ticket spot will instead be filled by Corrine Mulholland, the in-house lobbyist for troubled gambling giant Star.
“I want to make it clear that I will not be nominating for either position,” Ms Jones said.
“I’m very fortunate to work with some of the sharpest minds in Australia in business and sport who are making a real difference.”
The decision to draw a line in the sand on her political future is set to end weeks of speculation after United Workers Union boss and Labor powerbroker Gary Bullock first floated the option of steering her into the Senate.
It was hoped Ms Jones’ high-profile and campaigning abilities would help Labor’s stocks in Queensland, where it holds just five of 30 federal seats and three of 12 Senate spots.
But the proposal to seize the second Senate spot from the Right faction and hand it to the Left-aligned Old Guard proved too controversial, with Labor ultimately sticking to the status quo.
A Labor Party elder slammed the party for putting factional considerations above a “sensible initiative” to get Ms Jones in the field.
“This once-great party is now nothing more than a plaything for factional hacks and weak leaders both at a parliamentary and organisation level,” he said.
“The ALP will now endorse a factional Senate candidate who has an association with the troubled Star casino.
“The LNP will be celebrating all the way to the ballot box.”
A Left faction source said floating Ms Jones for the Senate was partly about galvanising the Right to produce a suitable female pick, rather than the long-time male party member it had pencilled in.
Right-faction-aligned Corrine Mulholland, the in-house lobbyist for troubled gambling giant Star, will likely come in as No.1 on Labor’s senate ticket behind sitting Left-aligned Senator Nita Green.
This decision is set to be finalised when Labor’s national executive, whose voting members include Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Queensland union powerbrokers Gary Bullock and Stacey Schinnerl, meet at the end of June.
Long-time Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill, voted out at the council elections in March, had also put up her hand to run as the Right’s Senate candidate.
She declined to comment on her future when approached on Tuesday.
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