Queensland Cabinet reshuffle: Mark Furner replaces Stirling Hinchliffe in ministry
UPDATE: A meeting of the Labor caucus has been called for 9am tomorrow to consider the promotion of Ferny Grove MP Mark Furner to Cabinet in place of Stirling Hinchliffe.
QLD Politics
Don't miss out on the headlines from QLD Politics. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A MEETING of the Labor caucus has been called for 9am tomorrow to consider the promotion of Ferny Grove MP Mark Furner to Cabinet in place of Stirling Hinchliffe.
Mr Furner won a factional vote on Wednesday night to clinch the promotion over government whip Linus Power.
It will now be put to the caucus ahead of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s reshuffle announcement, also to take place on Friday.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Mr Furner would be a welcome addition to the Cabinet.
“I will be nominating Mark Furner tomorrow at our caucus meeting,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“I think Mark will bring extensive experience. He had been a former Senator for Queensland, he’s been a chair of the Legal Affairs Committee. He is very hard working and I am sure he will be a welcome addition to our Cabinet.”
MsPalaszczuk said she would be making a decision on how former Transport and Commonwealth Games minister Stirling Hinchliffe’s portfolios would be divvied up as part of a reshuffle “overnight” before the new ministers are sworn in tomorrow afternoon.
OVERNIGHT: Member for Ferny Grove Mark Furner will replace Stirling Hinchliffe in the Queensland Cabinet after winning a close factional vote.
The Courier-Mail understands Mr Furner secured the vote of the majority of Labor Right’s backbenchers to beat Member for Logan and Government Whip Linus Power.
Mr Furner, a former senator and the Government’s most marginal MP, clinched the Cabinet spot from Mr Power by a vote of 7-5.
Mr Power was expected to be the favourite, and had the backing of the majority of the Right’s Cabinet members, but it is understood the backbenchers last night decided not to fall in line with their senior colleagues.
One minister is believed to have voted with the backbenchers.
The appointment is expected to be formally endorsed by the Labor caucus on Friday, but The Courier-Mail understands Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk spoke with Mr Furner tonight following a meeting of Labor’s Right faction.
Ms Palaszczuk is understood not to have voted despite also being a member of the faction.
It is understood Mr Furner is unlikely to take on the Transport portfolio however, with Ms Palaszczuk to announce how she will divvy up Mr Hinchliffe’s Transport and Commonwealth Games portfolios in a Cabinet reshuffle on Friday.
There is a strong push for Deputy Premier Jackie Trad to regain Transport, which she held before the ministry was expanded at the end of 2015.
Several ministers are believed to have informed Ms Palaszczuk they would prefer to stay in their current portfolios and continue their policy work.
Former Commonwealth Games minister Kate Jones — who currently presides over Education, Tourism and Major Events — could be handed back the Games portfolio, with Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate one of those lobbying for the move.
Ms Palaszczuk — who flew to Cairns this afternoon after announcing Queensland had earned $52 billion from exports last year, up seven per cent — has said the reshuffle would be minor.
It came as Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls again insisted no more of his MPs would be jumping ship to One Nation when Pauline Hanson arrived in Brisbane on Friday to make another Queensland-election-related announcement.
He said he had spoken to his MPs and all had ensured him they were not going anywhere following Steve Dickson’s defection to One Nation month.
There had been speculation One Nation’s mooted announcement could see Katter’s Australian MPs Robbie Katter and Shane Knuth join in an alliance with One Nation on the floor of Parliament.
Mr Katter issued a statement indicating an alliance was unlikely but a preference deal could be on the cards.
“I’ve spoken to all of our MPs and I am absolutely confident that they are sticking with the LNP,” Mr Nicholls said, including Jason Costigan and Sid Cramp.
“I was up in Mackay with Jason Costigan and he was asked the question and quite frankly his answer was it’s bull----.”
$135m health bungle: Minister’s apology to affected businesses
Health Minister Steven Miles has apologised to businesses that have suffered delays because of the new Queensland Health payment system.
Hundreds of staff underpaid at Queensland utility
A Queensland Government-owned utility corporation has underpaid hundreds of its senior staff for more than a decade in a bungle that could have ripped off up to a quarter of its workforce.