New Labor state secretary Kate Flanders backs the party to fend off a Greens surge

Queensland Labor’s incoming state secretary believes the Palaszczuk government’s current environmental policies are enough to stave off growing Greens support ahead of the 2024 state election.

Queensland Labor’s incoming state secretary believes the Palaszczuk government’s current environmental policies are enough to stave off growing Greens support ahead of the 2024 state election.

But Kate Flanders said the party would drill down into last month’s federal election results to get an understanding of what happened across different communities.

Ms Flanders, who was the Together Union’s assistant state secretary for more than a decade and who is a member of the Left faction, was recently appointed as Labor’s state secretary following the resignation of Julie-Ann Campbell.

She said there was an “interesting phenomenon” in the federal seat of Brisbane where minor party preferences flowed to the Greens over Labor.

“In unexpected places … like a One Nation first preference vote then going to a Green over Labor and the LNP is a really interesting phenomenon,” she said.

“We still need to really look through those results and see what that means, what that looks like … I can’t be in the head of that individual voter but … we need to go and talk to the campaigners in Brisbane and have a talk to them about … what their perspective was, and also just look at the results.”

The Greens picked up three seats across south east Queensland last month, defeating the LNP in Brisbane and Ryan and Labor in Griffith.

On first preferences, Greens candidate Stephen Bates recorded a 4.87 per cent swing towards him in Brisbane while Labor’s Madonna Jarrett recorded a 2.76 per cent swing towards her.

In Griffith, Greens candidate Max Chandler-Mather welcomed an almost 11 per cent swing based on first preferences.

And in Ryan, Greens candidate Elizabeth Watson-Brown recorded a 9.86 per cent swing towards her.

New Ryan MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown. Photo: Dan Peled/Getty Images)

The surge in support followed the 2020 state election when Labor’s Jackie Trad lost South Brisbane to the Greens.

Ms Flanders said the Palaszczuk government’s current policies, particularly around the environment, were enough to combat the surging Greens vote.

“I think there’s an amazing record of achievement in environmental issues,” she said.

Asked how hard it would be to stave off Greens support in 2024, Ms Flanders said every election was different.

“You’ve got to take the set of circumstances that you have at the time and I think that we have a really strong Labor identity here in Queensland and I think the Premier’s record is so good and very clear and there’s a huge record of achievement there,” she said.

“So I think when we get to 2024 … it’ll be about talking to the community at that point about what is your vision for the future in Queensland and how you see that aligning with where you’re going to put your vote at that time.”

Ms Flanders is expected to be elected at the party’s conference later this year.