Qld election 2020: Labor’s Old Guard may lose Cabinet spot
One of Queensland Labor’s factions is facing the loss of a critical Cabinet position as the others battle to boost their numbers in the wake of the state election.
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Labor’s smallest faction is facing the loss of a critical Cabinet position as the Left and Right battle to boost their numbers following last week’s election.
The Sunday Mail understands the Old Guard faction could lose one of its three Cabinet posts after its overall representation in the Caucus dropped.
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Labor’s three factions – Left, Right and Old Guard – receive Cabinet positions relative to their total numbers within Caucus.
About half of the Labor MPs are aligned to the Left, which controls nine Cabinet posts, with Ms Palaszczuk’s Right faction taking six and the Old Guard three.
Jockeying over the factional make-up has intensified in recent days as results in a few close races have become clearer and Labor heavyweights have started negotiating over Cabinet positions.
One MP said the battle for Cabinet posts was getting nasty, but the process was always vicious.
The final make-up of Caucus is still unclear, with Labor on track to win 50 to 52 seats depending on results in a few remaining tight races.
But two candidates set to flip seats for Labor – Adrian Tantari (Hervey Bay) and Robert Skelton (Nicklin) – are being eyed by both major factions as they were both unaligned at
preselection.
Securing the support of both would be a major boost for either, with the Right understood to be pressing hardest to woo them.
The Sunday Mail has been told Member for Maryborough Bruce Saunders, who walked out of the Left last year, has also been courted by the Right.
Mr Saunders said he was unaligned and planned to remain that way.
“I am just a big support of the Premier,” he said.
MPs from the Left and Right factions have noted that Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s first regional trip after winning the election was to visit Mr Tantari in Hervey Bay and Mr Saunders in Maryborough.
MPs and factional powerbrokers believe the most likely scenario is for the Old Guard to lose one Cabinet position to the Right, seating another ally around the Cabinet table for Ms Palaszczuk.
Education Minister Grace Grace and Child Safety, Youth and Women Minister Di Farmer as well as Speaker Curtis Pitt are from the Old Guard.
Retired Tourism Minister Kate Jones was also a member of the Old Guard, as is Leanne Linard, who has been mentioned as likely to be elevated to the ministry.