YouGov polling reveals preferred premier if Annastacia Palaszczuk stood aside

Exclusive polling has exposed a potential leadership vacuum within the third-term Palaszczuk government, with more than 50 per cent of voters uncertain of who should take the top job if Annastacia Palaszczuk were to stand down as Labor leader.

More than half of voters don’t know who they want to replace Annastacia Palaszczuk if she was to step down as Labor leader – exposing a huge leadership vacuum within the third-term government.

Given a choice of Deputy Premier Steven Miles, Treasurer Cameron Dick, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath, and Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman, none received more than 11 per cent of support.

A massive 57 per cent of respondents to The Courier-Mail’s new YouGov poll of 1044 people said they had no opinion or didn’t know who would make a better Labor leader – and 17 per cent said they wanted someone else.

The results highlight how the Premier has no obvious heir apparent, but also cements Ms Palaszczuk’s grasp on the Labor leadership ahead of the 2024 election.

Steven Miles and Cameron Dick are considered the most likely to replace Annastacia Palaszczuk if she was to leave the top job before the 2024 election. .

Mr Miles, the most senior member of the Left faction, polled slightly better than the rest, with 11 per cent of voters saying he would make the better leader if Ms Palaszczuk was to go.

Mr Dick, who hails from Ms Palaszczuk’s Right faction, only picked up support from 7 per cent of Queenslanders.

Both men are considered Ms Palaszczuk’s most likely replacement if the Premier was to leave the top job before the next election, although Mr Dick has previously insisted he had “zero interest” in the role.

Ms D’Ath, whose profile has risen since taking on the health portfolio, was only just behind Mr Dick – with 5 per cent of voters backing her as the better option to take on the leadership.

This was followed by the 3 per cent support given to Ms Fentiman, who is the most senior woman in the Left faction and has taken on some of the government’s biggest reforms in recent times.

If Ms Palaszczuk was to stand down as leader and multiple candidates vied for the position, it would trigger a leadership vote that would include the party membership.

The YouGov poll – conducted between June 23 and June 30 – showed Mr Miles had an edge over Mr Dick among Labor voters, with 17 per cent supporting him compared to 10 per cent for the Treasurer.

Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman is the most senior woman in Queensland Labor’s Left faction. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

But about three in five Labor voters indicated they didn’t know or had no opinion on who would make a better leader of the party after Ms Palaszczuk.

The Premier last week suggested she intended to lead the government to the next election, despite initially suggesting she had not made up her mind.

Ms Palaszczuk on Wednesday said she didn’t have a preference on who should replace her when she stands down from the leadership.

“I know where you’re going with this – I’m very happy leading the government,” she said.

“I think everybody in my team is doing an excellent job.”

When she was asked last month if she had aspirations to be premier, Ms Fentiman said being Attorney-General was her “dream job” and she was “very happy” with what she was currently doing.

Before handing down his budget last month, Mr Dick said he had “zero interest” in becoming the state’s premier.

“I’m looking forward to delivering six budgets at least all the way through the next term and beyond,” Mr Dick said at the time.