New details emerge of when Dick was offered deputy role

As rumours swirl around who was offered the deputy premiership when, Treasurer Cameron Dick has given his version of events.

Treasurer Cameron Dick will also become deputy premier. Picture: Glenn Campbell/NCA NewsWire

New details have emerged of the backroom negotiations that secured Steven Miles the premiership, with Treasurer Cameron Dick revealing he was offered the role of deputy at lunchtime on Monday.

Speculation and rumours about the intervention of union heavyweights doing deals to deliver the party leadership dominated headlines after Mr Miles emerged victorious.

There have also been various accounts of who was offered the role of deputy and when.

At least one source from the Miles camp revealed to The Courier-Mail that fellow challenger, Health Minister Shannon Fentiman, was offered the deputy position as late as 4.30pm on Monday.

Those in Ms Fentiman’s camp have rejected this, however.

Shannon Fentiman insists she wasn’t offered the role of deputy. Picture: Dan Peled/Getty Images

Following various reports about the Right faction’s support for the Left’s Mr Miles being based on an industrial agreement between the United Workers Union and the Australian Workers’ Union, Mr Dick — the Right’s leader — was asked how he sold the deal to those in his faction.

But the Treasurer rubbished the assertion, insisting the deals and negotiations were solely based on private discussions between he and Mr Miles.

“After the Queensland Disaster Management Committee meeting on Monday, Steven asked to meet with me,” Mr Dick said.

“I went to his office, we sat down together face-to-face and he asked me to be his deputy.

“Nobody’s written about that because nobody else was there — there were no MPs, there were no union leaders, there were no staffers.

“It was just Steven and me meeting in his office.”

The Treasurer said “many conversations flowed from that” before he and the Right eventually got behind Mr Miles’ bid for the leadership on Monday night and the two emerged in unity on Tuesday.

Mr Miles was quizzed about the reported union agreement but he insisted the “only thing that you could describe as a deal” was the alliance between he and Mr Dick.

“The decision was made the moment Cameron and I sat down together,” he said.

“And I said in the best interests of the Labor Party, of the caucus and, most importantly, of Queenslanders, we needed to put an end to the speculation (and) that I would appreciate his support.

“In return for his support, I think he would be a very good deputy.”

When pressed on whether someone offered Ms Fentiman the deputy role on his behalf, Mr Miles said: “There have been a lot of conversations this week and I haven’t been able to be a part of all of them.”

The soon-to-be premier also denied Mr Dick was his second choice for the deputy position.