Qld politics: Annastacia Palaszczuk preferred Labor leader by far

A new poll shows there’s not much love for either of the men who would be premier should Annastacia Palaszczuk decide to step down.

Annastacia Palaszczuk has no heir apparent, with voters rejecting anyone else but the Premier to lead the Queensland Labor Government.

A new YouGov poll of more than 1000 people conducted exclusively for The Sunday Mail shows there’s not much love for either of the men who would be premier should Ms Palaszczuk decide to step down.

Voters were asked their opinion over the better alternative Labor leader over the past week, with only 12 per cent of people backing Deputy Premier Steven Miles.

Just one in 10 gave Treasurer Cameron Dick the thumbs-up – only slightly more than the 6 per cent who nominated Health Minister Yvette D’Ath, whose public profile has increased during daily updates managing the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Dick is the next most senior member of Ms Palaszczuk’s Right faction, while Mr Miles is the parliamentary leader of Labor’s powerful Left.

Both have been touted as potential Labor leaders.

Ms D’Ath is the next most senior member of the Right.

But about a quarter wanted “someone else” from the party to lead if Ms Palaszczuk stepped down, whose personal popularity is still high at a 50 per cent satisfaction rating.

And the vast majority of Queenslanders – about half – voted for “Don’t know/No opinion” when asked to mark an heir apparent.

The polling shows Ms Palaszczuk holds it over Opposition Leader David Crisafulli as preferred premier, leading 46 per cent to 25 per cent.

Mr Crisafulli holds a satisfied rating of 26 per cent, with 28 per cent dissatisfied, giving him a net satisfaction of -2.

It’s not too different from former leader Deb Frecklington’s net satisfied rating of -3.

Just before she lost the October 2020 election, 29 per cent of voters were happy with her and 32 per cent weren’t. Forty per cent had said they were still uncommitted. But the polling shows Mr Crisafulli’s small target approach means he still has time to convince around half of uncommitted voters of his credentials.

Among LNP voters, around half were satisfied with the job he’s been doing, and 40 per cent haven’t made up their minds yet.

The polling showed Labor now leads the LNP 52 to 48 per cent on the two-party-preferred vote.

But integrity issues that have been plaguing the state government have taken some of the shine off the Premier’s personal appeal, with 33 per cent of voters saying integrity issues – including claims of political interference in the offices of independent integrity heads by senior public servants – had caused them to view her less favourably.

Ms Palaszczuk will become the fourth longest serving premier of Queensland should she serve out this full four-year term, which she has said she will do.

It would mean she would leapfrog Peter Beattie’s nine-year-plus stint to become Labor’s second-longest-serving premier behind William Forgan-Smith, who served nearly 10-and-a-half years in office.