Premier Steven Miles ‘categorically’ rules out minor party deals to govern coalition

Steven Miles has ruled out deals with minor parties saying Labor players to “test its numbers” on the floor of parliament should Queenslanders vote against him later this month.

Premier Steven Miles has “categorically” ruled out doing deals with minor parties to govern in coalition should Queenslanders not return Labor in majority.

Instead Labor would “test its numbers” on the floor of parliament, and the next government decided on who received more support from the crossbench.

Mr Miles comments come after Labor sources revealed minority was the “best case scenario”.

“There will be no deals, no coalition governments. I’ve been in minority government, I have no intention - and I can categorically rule out - any deals with any minority,” he said.

“If the people of Queensland return a different parliamentary makeup… and if neither party can make a majority, then the existing government tests its numbers on the floor of the parliament, that’s how it works.”

Mr Miles, as a minister during Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s first term in government, experienced three years of being in minority. Labor formed government after obtaining confidence and supply from Independent MP and Speaker Peter Wellington.

“I did (minority government) for three years, and I know how much more we’ve been able to achieve for Queensland with majority government since then,” he said.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles during a press conference in Brisbane. Picture: Tertius Pickard

A 26-day battle across the state’s 93 electorates officially starts Tuesday when Mr Miles is expected to travel north after meeting Governor Jeannette Young early in the morning.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli got a jump-start on Labor by leaving Brisbane for Cairns at 5am on Monday and used the first day of his campaign to pledge better early intervention programs to reduce youth crime.

The LNP needs a uniform statewide swing of 5.7 per cent to win 12 seats from Labor and form majority government on October 26.

For Labor, losing just five seats, however, would put it below the 47 needed to govern in its own right and force Mr Miles to negotiate with the Greens or Katter’s Australian Party.

Mr Miles again acknowledged seeking a fourth term for Labor would be difficult, but attempted to promote himself as a fresh face deserving of his own mandate.

“I’m seeking a first term as Queensland’s premier,” he said.

“I want four years in my own right to deliver on the kinds of policies the vision that I have for our state and I’ve sought to use the 10 months I’ve had in this role to show Queenslanders who I am and what I would do.”

Several Labor sources told The Courier-Mail on the eve of the election their only hope of holding on to power was in minority government with the support of the Greens or KAP.

One senior MP tipped a “bad swing” was coming and declared minority government was the “best case scenario” for Labor.

The possibility of holding on to power was slapped down by other Labor MPs, however, who declared the government would lose the election and predicted the LNP would win the 12 seats needed to form a majority.

“Minority government is wishful thinking,” one said.

“There’s a bit of denial, some people don’t believe it will be that bad and some are battening down the hatches.”

Queensland opposition leader David Crisafulli. Picture: Tertius Pickard

Another Labor source tipped the result would be “worse than what the polls say”.

For 10 months the LNP’s two-party lead over the government has been locked around 57-43 and Labor’s primary vote has hovered at lows of 26 per cent.

Freshwater Strategy polling published in the Australian Financial Review on Monday reconfirmed the defeat facing Labor, with the LNP maintaining 56-44 on a two-party vote.

The poll of 1062 Queenslanders put Labor’s primary vote at 30 per cent, 3.4 points higher than Anna Bligh’s 2012 election defeat.

If replicated across the state, Labor would lose 20 seats, including ones held by five ministers.

“You’ve been running polls like that all year that suggest David Crisafulli could have an easy run to becoming the state’s premier,” Mr Miles said.

“He believes that, there’s a reason he’s behaving the way he is. He thinks these elections are going to be easy, but we’ve barely even started and with four weeks to go, I can assure you that this election will be much, much harder for him than he realises.”

Mr Crisafulli said the LNP would not preference the Greens, but argued Labor would strike an “unholy alliance” to stay in office.

“There is a real prospect of a larger contingent of Greens giving them (Labor) preferences, giving them supply and enabling a fourth term,” he said.

Katter’s Australian Party, is shaping as a key power bloc in the next parliament if its four MPs win re-election.

The North Queensland party will meet early this week to determine how it preferences the major parties, which could influence the result in up to seven north Queensland seats

KAP MPs met Mr Crisafulli during the final week of parliament last month to determine whether the two conservative forces would be friends or enemies during the campaign.

Mr Crisafulli has announced candidates to run against KAP, but as part of the talks it’s understood the LNP agreed not to pour resources into the seats to mount a serious challenge.

Publicly, Mr Crisafulli suggested only Labor needed to negotiate to form government and shot down a question about whether he’d hold talks with Katter’s Australian Party.

Robbie Katter. Picture: Nigel Hallett

“No, and there will be none,” he said.

“The last thing we need is minority government in this state and another four years of the Labor Party.”

Katter’s Australian Party is targeting the Torres Strait Island seat of Cook, held by Labor’s Cynthia Lui on a 6.3 per cent margin.

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation pledged to put Labor and the Greens last in all seats.

The conservative force’s best chance of winning a seat is in Central Queensland’s Keppel where Pauline Hanson’s chief of staff James Ashby is taking on Labor’s Brittany Lauga.

Originally published as Premier Steven Miles ‘categorically’ rules out minor party deals to govern coalition