Qld Cabinet reshuffle: Grace Grace reveals moment she targeted Steven Miles’ portfolio

Fresh details have emerged about how Queensland’s Cabinet reshuffle unfolded, with Grace Grace revealing exactly what happened behind the scenes as Steven Miles rose to power.

Fresh details have emerged about how Queensland’s Cabinet reshuffle unfolded with Grace Grace revealing she put her name forward to replace Steven Miles as the Minister for State Development and Infrastructure.

In a rare interview with The Sunday-Mail, Ms Grace admitted to previously having long-term plans as Education Minister in a portfolio she had bitter sweet feelings about departing.

As Labor members scrambled in the wake of Annastacia Palaszczuk’s shock resignation, Ms Grace became a powerful player in Mr Miles’ ascension to the top.

In the state government’s biggest shake-up of the past decade, Ms Grace became kingmaker when Miles was falling short of the numbers to make Premier.

Her party influence was shown in the whipping of her eight Old Guard colleagues to support Mr Miles for Premier.

But Mr Miles’ rise to Premier left a hole to fill – and with Ms Grace having filled the coveted education portfolio for six long years of stability – an “opportunity for change” presented itself.

Grace Grace has revealed she put her name forward to replace Steven Miles as the Minister for State Development and Infrastructure. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

“I guess Steven was going to leave his portfolio and so it was who will take it up, and I suggested I would be very happy to have a look at it,” Ms Grace told The Sunday-Mail.

“He asked me then to stick with Industrial Relations and Racing, and I said OK, I’m happy to do that. But obviously his portfolio needed to be somewhere. He knows it. He wanted someone who could take the Games, the state development and infrastructure, after all I have done in education and I was happy to take it on, it was time to move …”

Up until the days before Ms Palaszczuk’s resignation on that quiet Sunday morning, Ms Grace said she had planned on being education minister until the 2024 election.

“I would say that would probably be right unless there was going to be a cabinet reshuffle … I would have assumed that I would have been education minister up until the election, yes,” she said.

“We rolled out Free Kindy, the best agreement for our teachers in the country … there are so many things we were doing before but it’s great to move into state development and infrastructure.”

Ms Grace, who is a close confidant and friend of Ms Palaszczuk, said her retirement had been a surprise.

“It was a bit of a surprise but if there was one thing that us as a government should have been very proud of, is that the premier decided to leave on her own terms, and that I think is very difficult for premiers to often do,” Ms Grace said.

“I will be friends with her all my life, we are very close. She was a fantastic premier and her legacy hasn’t been written yet. Annastacia has done a great job and Steven Miles now will bring his style and a new era for Queensland that will be just as productive.”