‘We got it wrong in Townsville’: Steven Miles on Labor wipe-out

Steven Miles admits Labor dropped the ball on Townsville’s crime crisis, failing to act quickly enough — a costly mistake that turned voters against them and led to the party’s crushing defeat in the region.

Steven Miles says Labor was too slow to act on escalating crime in 2021 and 2022, particularly in places like Townsville

Steven Miles admits Labor dropped the ball on Townsville’s crime crisis, failing to act quickly enough — a costly mistake that turned voters against them and led to the party’s crushing defeat in the region.

After an election wipe-out that saw Labor lose all three of its Townsville seats to the LNP, the former Premier has been taking stock of where it all went wrong.

“In hindsight, the government was too slow to respond to the escalating crimes that we saw in 2021 and 2022, particularly in places like Townsville,” Miles said on ABC Radio Brisbane.

“When we did respond, the plan worked and was pushing back down those crime rates, but by then, too many people had experienced it, and they made up their mind, I think, at that point.”

The wipe-out in Townsville was a major blow for Labor, losing key seats in Thuringowa, Mundingburra, and Townsville.

It comes after a senior Labor source reportedly said the party had pulled resources from the region months before the election, as it became clear that voters in the city had long decided they wouldn’t be supporting Labor.

Mr Miles conceded the election results in parts of regional Queensland had been “terrible,” particularly in Townsville, where public frustration over rising crime levels reached a tipping point.

“We got things wrong in Townsville, and people made up their minds to tell us that,” Miles said.

“But it’s historically been a town where Labor can win seats, so we’ve got four years to convince Townsville locals that we’ve heard the message.”

As the LNP takes over, Mr Miles indicated that Labor won’t oppose the new government’s key policy on crime.

New premier of Queensland David Crisafulli at the formal swearing in at Government House. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass

He said he does not expect Labor to stand in the way of Premier David Crisafulli’s “adult crime, adult time” laws, which the LNP campaigned hard on as part of their tough-on-crime approach.

The laws are expected to be in place by Christmas, with Mr Crisafulli promising two parliamentary sitting weeks before the year’s end to push through the changes.

During the election campaign, the LNP leader vowed to hit the ground running in his first week as Premier by instructing the Department of Justice and Attorney-General to begin drafting the Making Queensland Safer laws.

He also plans to meet with the police commissioner to discuss additional support needed to tackle the youth crime crisis.

Originally published as ‘We got it wrong in Townsville’: Steven Miles on Labor wipe-out