Premier Steven Miles flags more cost-of-living relief for Queensland amid dire poll numbers
In an exclusive interview, Premier Steven Miles believes battered Labor can still win come October and has promised to ‘do better’ as polling puts his government on track for a devastating loss.
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Battered Premier Steven Miles has promised to “do better” and flagged more cost of living relief for Queenslanders as polling puts his government on track for a devastating election loss.
Mr Miles – speaking exclusively with The Saturday Courier-Mail – denies Queenslanders have stopped listening to his government and insists he can win in October.
He acknowledged voters – through this week’s YouGov poll – remained deeply unhappy about the performance of the state government.
“I do my best not to comment on polls, most politicians do but I thought it was important to tell Queenslanders the message that I take from it,” he said.
“I always knew I was going to be hard. I’ve always said it would be hard and I think the message for me in this poll is that I need to work harder.
“I need to do better and I’ve got time to do that and that’s what I’ll do.”
Queenslanders can expect more cost of living relief announcements, a long-term vision for the state and to “see more of me”, Mr Miles insists.
The Courier-Mail’s poll revealed Labor’s vote continues to slide, down one per cent on a two-party measure to trail the LNP 57-43.
On primary vote, Labor’s 26 per cent would be the lowest result at an election since 1893.
Only the 23 per cent primary vote in May 2012 – two months after Anna Bligh’s wipe-out reduced Labor to a seven-seat opposition – was it lower.
Mr Miles is closing the gap as preferred premier, however the trend shows he is unlikely to catch Mr Crisafulli before the election.
That bright spot indicates Labor will craft the election as a choice between the premier and opposition leader – a battle Mr Miles maintains he can still win.
“I’m confident that if I do work harder, if I do show more Queenslanders the kinds of things I’m passionate about for our state’s future, then they’ll have another look at us,” he said.
Mr Miles hinted, should the government lose the election, he could remain in parliament.
When asked if he would run for opposition leader, the premier said he hadn’t “thought that far ahead”.
“I want to continue to serve and continue to contribute and so I hope that is as our state’s premier … either way I’ll be around … in public life in some way,” he said.
The inclusion of a fallen premier in the contest for opposition leadership could restart a battle among Labor’s factional rivals.
Deputy Premier Cameron Dick – of Labor’s right faction – is the government’s most experienced operator and has been touted as a future leader, while Health Minister Shannon Fentiman unsuccessfully for premier against Mr Miles in December.
“I know that Cameron’s focus is on winning this election,” Mr Miles said.
“I’ve never see our team more united. I’ve never seen them more disciplined … it’s a credit to them the whole team.”
Critics of the premier argue he failed to act on key issues during the four years he sat as Annastacia Palaszczuk’s deputy premier.
“There’s but there’s a big difference between being a member of the team and being the leader,” Mr Miles said.
“We are a new team. I am a new and a very different leader and what I will be offering to Queenslanders in October will build on what I’ve done in the first 11 months as their premier.
“Now that I’m the leader I’m taking the opportunity to set out more of my agenda, more on what I think is really important.”
Asked to give a direct message to disenfranchised voters, the premier said he was listening to them.
“I’ve heard the messages that you’ve wanted us to hear … and between now and the election we’ll have a clearer vision for the future,” he said.
“We’ll have lots of new ideas and our opponents don’t have any.”
The premier said that message to Queenslanders was not designed to sound “desperate”.
“I think it’s workmanlike,” he said.
“I’m the kind of person who does what they say they’ll do, including walking down the Queen Street Mall in a (NSW) blues jersey. That’s the hardest thing I think I’ve ever had to do.”
Questioned on what the LNP argues will be the “mother of all scare campaigns” delivered by Labor at the election, Mr Miles said it was justified.
“It’s not making things up to say that LNP governments are scary and we will be pointing out to Queenslanders what they did last time,” he said.
“If they’d had any renewal in their ranks they could distance themselves from Campbell Newman, but most of their team are the Newman government in exile for the last 10 years.”
Mr Crisafulli on Friday repeated a well-worn line about polling not being his priority, but argued the state was hungry for change.
“It’s been a bad government and Queenslanders have seen that in a living through that and they’ve also seen a united and focused opposition and we are working hard and we want to earn the trust of Queenslanders,” he said.
Mr Crisafulli dismissed statements delivered by Mr Dick on Thursday that Queenslanders should fear LNP cuts.
“The only person who hasn’t accepted that is the guy they rolled out yesterday for that scare campaign that said, among other things, that somehow the ABC was at risk,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“That remains one of the most ridiculous statements I’ve seen, but it is an entree to many more ridiculous statements.”
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