Analysis: Palaszczuk’s mea culpa from Beattie playbook

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has effectively demanded action from herself on the Adani mine, writes Steven Wardill — and has shown more front than former premier Peter Beattie.

ANNASTACIA Palaszczuk has effectively demanded action from herself on Adani’s Carmichael mega coalmine.

But her bizarre decision yesterday to fly to Mackay to announce nothing more than meeting between different branches of her own bureaucracy will fool no one.

Adani mine: Premier’s backflip receives mixed reaction

Adani coalmine: Indigenous elders claim Labor has ignored pleas

Labor leadership: Anthony Albanese won’t show hand on Adani

The Adani issue has become a malignant tumour on Ms Palaszczuk’s Government that she has failed to excise.

Her Government has defended — indeed, encouraged — the extraordinary 11th-hour intervention by the Department of Environment into Adani’s management plans for groundwater and the endangered black-throated finch.

It has constantly claimed the project is in the hands of the “independent regulator” when all along it had the power to steer the process towards a faster conclusion.

It has consistently insisted it supports the resources sector, but has overseen nothing but delays.

Enough was enough, Ms Palaszczuk insisted yesterday.

But that came two days after she insisted Adani wasn’t a federal election issue.

The people who really decided enough was enough were regional Queenslanders on Saturday.

Obviously regional Labor members got that message before then.

With more front than former premier Peter Beattie, Ms Palaszczuk yesterday apologised for federal Labor’s election performance.

But with widespread unrest among her own members, Ms Palaszczuk will be more sorry soon if she can’t come up with more than just a meeting.