The good, the bad, the ugly: The first 100 days of Steven Miles as Premier

Premier Steven Miles today marks day 100 of a 316-day effort to convince voters to give Labor a fourth term but party operatives fear he’s just keeping the seat warm for David Crisafulli. RATE HIS FIRST 100 DAYS

Labor MPs are praising Steven Miles’s work as Queensland premier but fear delays installing him in the top job has sacrificed their new boss to an election wipe-out in seven months.

Mr Miles on Sunday marks the first 100 days of a 316-day effort to convince voters to give Labor a fourth term.

Government MPs, party operatives and people familiar with the premier’s thinking have delivered an almost unanimous verdict on his efforts. They say he’s doing his best but fear he’s just keeping the seat warm for a charging David Crisafulli and the LNP.

Privately, several people believe the move against Annastacia Palaszczuk was too late.

In the middle of 2023, backbenchers in Labor’s third-term government were frustrated with the government’s lack of agenda.

Many knew the time for change would come and Mr Miles would take over but nobody could pull the trigger against the Labor hero who most owed their jobs to.

In early December, the ALP and union movement’s faceless men acted – and 100 days ago Steven Miles became Queensland’s 40th premier.

Steven Miles was Queensland’s 40th premier when he was sworn in late last year. Picture: Tertius Pickard

From the start Mr Miles – who was not interviewed for this piece – acknowledged the road ahead would be difficult.

Opinion polls put him “a long way behind” and the party’s vote is trending downwards.

The first month delivered optimism in Labor ranks as the premier moved quickly to review Olympics infrastructure, pledged a police helicopter for Townsville and grilled supermarket bosses over the price of groceries.

Privately, Labor MPs were invigorated by the new energy within the government.

At 6.28pm on the final day of Mr Miles’s first parliamentary sitting as premier, Labor MPs walked out with their tails up.

One at the time said they again felt “part of a team”, with Mr Miles eager to keep MPs in the loop with the government’s plans instead of delivering surprises in the morning papers.

He has embraced parliament’s crossbench – not missing the political benefit in doing so – and attempted to speak plainly and honestly with Queenslanders.

Days start early and finish late as Mr Miles works overtime to remove the pinch points that dogged Ms Palaszczuk in her final year as premier.

Mr Miles pictured during Queensland’s council election polling booths at Ipswich State High School. Picture: Patrick Woods.

At his heart, the premier remains a creature of politics, driven by one-upping the enemy and with two eyes firmly fixed on surviving October 26.

He has attempted to change tactics in parliament to catch the LNP off-guard and brutally lashed out at Mr Crisafulli as a “weak” leader Queenslanders shouldn’t “risk”.

Asked about governing by polling, his revelation that “we do attempt to make decisions based on what we think Queenslanders want” represented a new approach by the Queensland premier.

A Labor Party operative argued Mr Miles was “doing really well”, considering the challenge facing the government to win a fourth term.

“He’s being Steven, decisive and pragmatic … he’s kind, a bit too kind, maybe, and authentic,” they said.

People close to Mr Miles say he feels like a caretaker leader but “wants to be given the premier for real”.

“He doesn’t take it for granted,” they said. “If you’re given the opportunity to be the premier of Queensland you take it.”

Former director-general Rachel Hunter was given a $400,000 handshake after being sacked. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

The honeymoon ended with the appointment of former director-general Rachel Hunter to lead a housing review just one month after she walked away with a $400,000 handshake after being sacked by Mr Miles.

Days later he’d face further scrutiny when Ms Hunter’s successor, Mike Kaiser, tapped former chief of staff Danielle Cohen to lead what the LNP labelled a “political unit” within the bureaucracy.

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing.

The jobs-for-mates scandal distracted from the government’s flagship Homes for Queenslanders plan and exposed the shortfall within Mr Miles’s office.

It raised questions about his discipline in an election year when the leader’s actions face deep scrutiny.

Mike Kaiser took over from Rachel Hunter. Picture: Liam Kidston

The premier’s senior colleagues, however, insisted the damage from the scandal would be temporary and insisted he would improve.

“He’s quite contrite, he’ll learn from it,” they said.

Every once in a while the clunkyness of the new administration rears its head.

The decision to announce Cabinet outcomes, without providing detail, has frustrated some senior government MPs and left them questioning the effectiveness of the government’s media strategy.

At one post-cabinet press conference Education Minister Di Farmer was bizarrely put forward by Mr Miles to announce what the new Women and Girls Health Strategy – endorsed that day – “means to her and to our government”. The absence of Ms Fentiman, women and health minister, was conspicuous.

Government insiders insist Ms Fentiman had not been purposely frozen out but blamed the oversight as a simple misunderstanding.

Mr Miles became Queensland’s 40th premier after Annastacia Palaszczuk’s shock retirement late last year. Picture: Liam Kidston

Details of the strategy were dropped by Ms Fentiman in the week after.

Mr Miles hasn’t unpacked his boxes on the top ministerial level of the government’s One William Street tower of power.

In parliament, the spacious office previously occupied by Ms Palaszczuk’s is now a temporary meeting room.

One colleague joked he was one of the state’s struggling renters.

During sitting weeks Mr Miles is sometimes spotted lining up for his own coffee from parliament’s Stranger’s Cafe.

One Labor colleague described Mr Miles as kind and authentic. Picture: Glenn Hunt

One MP said parliament was more entertaining, with the more agile government taking the fight to the LNP.

“It just feels better,” they said. “It’s the refresh we needed but it might have been made too late.”

The premier’s mannerisms have created concern, with staff spotted nodding in encouragement to Mr Miles while he gives speeches and appears at events.

He was caught out during a February Queensland Media Club appearance for laughing in response to a question about crime – allowing critics to argue it was the topic he found comical.

The toughest test for the state’s leader was his unflinching decision to endorse spending $1.6bn upgrading the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre despite Graham Quirk’s review arguing against it.

Saturday’s by-elections saw the optimistic Labor government brought back to earth.

Mr Miles sharing a laugh with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: Picture: Dan Peled

A humbled premier had few answers but repeated the pledge to listen.

Privately, the Labor caucus has agreed it is time to turn the blowtorch on Mr Crisafulli.

The two weeks of a more harmonious parliament envisaged by Mr Miles was thrown out as the government went on the attack against Campbell Newman’s LNP cuts – a decade ago.

Whether it cuts through is uncertain. Some backbenchers fear Queenslanders have simply stopped listening and are ready for a change.

Tuesday morning brought a clear assessment from one government MP: “We still have time and he’s much more engaging but should we have changed earlier? Probably.”

Mr Miles is still on the attack but party operatives say that attack could soon turn to a survival mission as the election nears.