Jackie Trad attends high-level meeting of Shannon Fentiman’s allies
G’day readers, and welcome to the latest edition of Feeding the Chooks, your weekly peek behind the scenes of Queensland politics.
Eye on the prize
Is Queensland Labor’s Left faction plotting Shannon Fentiman’s post-election path to the leadership?
A high-level meeting of the Health Minister’s supporters was held at the Roma Street headquarters of her union – the AMWU – on Monday night.
And Chooks is hearing it was no ordinary catch-up on workplace issues.
Our spies say the meeting was attended by none other than former deputy premier and Left faction supremo Jackie Trad, past ALP state secretary Julie-Ann Campbell and AMWU boss Rohan Webb.
Trad hit the phones for Fentiman – her friend and protégé – during her failed leadership bid in December.
Fentiman was quickly robbed out of testing her support for the leadership on the caucus floor against Steven Miles and Cameron Dick in a backroom union deal that stitched-up the top jobs for the fellas.
If Miles leads Labor to defeat at the October 26 election, as successive polls indicate is almost certain, then there is an automatic leadership spill.
While Fentiman has proved to be a loyal soldier to Miles, she still holds ambitions.
And that is what we understand the powwow was all about. Trad et al were war-gaming a leadership tussle in the event of an election loss. It’s called picking through spoils of defeat.
As Chooks has previously reported, there are major concerns in the dominant Left faction over how it would manage another leadership contest after the running of two Left candidates (Miles and Fentiman) could have split the vote and inadvertently installed the Right’s Dick as premier.
Miles’s main backer, United Workers Union boss Gary Bullock, has pulled the strings in the Palaszczuk-Miles government for a decade but most of the MPs aligned to his union are on tight margins and his power base will likely be eroded at the poll.
Of Labor’s 10 safest seats, four are held by the AWU-Right faction (Woodridge, Sandgate Jordan Ipswich), two by the AMWU (Algester and Waterford), two by smaller Left unions (Bundamba and Morayfield) and just one by the UWU (Nudgee). Gladstone is Labor’s second safest seat and Manufacturing Minister Glenn Butcher is a member of both the AMWU and UWU.
Webb told Chooks that Monday’s meeting was to discuss the union’s federal election campaign and Fentiman said she was focused on her job as Health Minister and getting the Miles government re-elected.
Labor bumps up fees
At the same time Fentiman supporters were busy scheming on Monday night, Labor’s powerful admin committee was meeting across the river at the ALP’s South Brisbane headquarters.
Chooks spies tell us that tensions were running high between backbencher Linus Power and party treasurer Jake Araullo over the planned hike to ALP membership fees.
Membership costs have not increased in years and the new direct debit regime will apparently make it cheaper for most members, but insiders say Power was unhappy with the plan to jack-up fees in a cost of living crisis (though he refuted this when contacted by Chooks).
Bury the nuclear waste
Any talk of ongoing fallout between David Crisafulli and Peter Dutton over their opposing views on nuclear energy was, if he is to be believed, buried by the Queensland leader on Friday morning.
Dutton’s major policy play as federal opposition leader is his plan to convert seven ageing power stations across Australia – including two in Queensland – into nuclear reactors.
Crisafulli would be a major roadblock to the plan, with the state opposition leader insistent that he would not change Queensland law to allow nuclear power plants in the state if both he and Dutton were elected at upcoming polls.
Despite their policy rift and the inevitable distraction it would bring to his campaign to become premier, Crisafulli said he would “absolutely” be asking Dutton to join him on the trail in October.
“I think it shows people can have different views on things and still have a sense of purpose,” he said.
“Mr Dutton’s federal seat covers, I think about five state seats – we don’t have any of those state seats.
“The fact that Mr Dutton keeps getting elected in every election I hear that he’s not going to be elected, suggests to you that people know him, respect him, and back him. And if Mr Dutton is willing to give some time to join us on the campaign trail (then) you bet, you bet he’s welcome.”
Crisafulli’s response was in stark contrast to how Annastacia Palaszczuk answered similar questions about then-opposition leader Anthony Albanese during the 2020 election.
“I don’t need someone to hold my hand for a week,” Palaszczuk said.
Ranga-gate
Speaking of Peter Dutton, the federal opposition leader this week weighed-in on a controversial investigation into Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate.
Tate is facing disciplinary action after he called a fellow councillor a “ranga”. For those who don’t know, the term is increasingly-used slang to describe those with red hair (a Google search suggests it is a derivative of our simarily-coloured primate cousins, the orang-utan).
Asked about the ranga fiasco by 4BC’s Peter Fegan this week, Dutton blasted the investigation as an “utter farce”.
“Oh mate, honestly, I think this is the most ridiculous story and the whole woke agenda has gone mad. I wish I could be called a ranga. I’d be happy to mate,” he said.
“I get stick all the time for being bald – not bald by choice. But ranga is a great Australian term, and you know, as I say, I get called Potato Head or whatever – water off a duck’s back.”
Life in opposition
Are Labor MPs ready for the grind of opposition?
After enjoying the spoils of government for a decade – personal drivers, hordes of staff and private offices – the caucus is bracing for post-election life, especially if they lose government.
Of Labor’s 51-member caucus only Speaker Curtis Pitt knows what that is like to serve a full term on the opposition benches.
Most Labor MPs came to parliament at the 2015, 2017 and 2020 elections (Palaszczuk achieved an unprecedented feat of increasing a government’s seat count at three successive elections) and did not have to endure the three-year slog of sitting opposite a 78-member LNP government.
Those elected before 2015 – Cameron Dick, Stirling Hinchliffe, Mark Ryan, Grace Grace and Di Farmer – all lost their seats at the 2012 election and have never spent a day in opposition.
In fact, some of Labor’s most senior MPs haven’t even paid their dues on the backbench. Dick was promoted straight into Anna Bligh’s cabinet as Attorney-General after he was elected in 2009 and Miles, Shannon Fentiman and Leeanne Enoch all bypassed the backbench when Palaszczuk swept to power in 2015.
Chooks spoke to Pitt this week, who was one of the seven Labor MPs who survived the 2012 election.
“Look, the worst day in government is always better than the best day in opposition. I will say that hands down,” he said.
“There’s a responsibility you have when you’re in opposition to try to hold the government to account, but it’s enormously frustrating knowing that you need to get into government to enact your ideas.
“Clearly, you’re better resourced in government than opposition, there’s no doubt about that.”
No target
David Crisafulli is refusing to say whether the LNP will set a renewable energy target before the election.
The LNP voted in support of Labor’s emission reduction targets in April, but against the target of 80 per cent renewable energy generation by 2035.
The renewables goal is enshrined in legislation, meaning a future LNP government would have to pass new laws to scrap it.
Chooks asked Crisafulli repeatedly on Friday whether he would set a new target before the election. He wouldn’t answer.
“You’ll be on the campaign, and you can ask me every day,” he said.
Stoking the fire
Labor has finally found a candidate to challenge former Senator Amanda Stoker for the state seat of Oodgeroo and, if previous form is anything to go by, she might as well start measuring the curtains of the electorate office.
The ALP has been struggling to find someone willing to put their hand up to take on Stoker – tipped to hurtle straight into a Crisafulli’s cabinet if the LNP wins the election – despite senior government ministers blasting her preselection last year.
Chooks can reveal Irene Henley is coming back for another crack at the bayside seat, having lost to retiring LNP MP Mark Robinson at the 2020 election.
Henley, a nurse who also ran for Redland City Council in 2020, secured less than a third of the primary vote in Oodgeroo at the last state election.
But the bigger question remains: who on the LNP frontbench will have to make way for Stoker in the ministry after years fighting the fight in opposition.
Miles ahead on ad spend
Steven Miles is everywhere on social media – getting sweaty at the gym with backbenchers, making sandwiches, eating ice creams.
His industrial-scale spin machine – made up of media advisers, graphic designers, photographers and videographers – are constantly pumping out content to his growing number of followers (90,000 on Facebook, 54,000 on Instagram, 35,000 TikTok).
And aside from paying the salaries of his army of spinners, taxpayers are also forking out the big bucks to fund advertisements on Miles’s personally branded social media pages to spruik some of Labor’s key election commitments.
Since May 14, taxpayers have sponsored $54,682 worth of ads on the premier’s Facebook and Instagram pages, including $19,525 in the past month.
Chooks can reveal that Miles outspent Prime Minister Anthony Albanese eightfold on social media ads last month (the PM spent a more modest $2,283).
Miles’s latest online ad blitz was to spruik his government’s controversial satellite hospitals – several of which are in marginal seats.
With the impending freeze on non-essential government advertising – which begins at the end of August – we expect a last minute splurge of taxpayer money to promote Labor’s agenda.
Bleijie on donation prowl
Deputy LNP leader Jarrod Bleijie and his wife, Sally, will be busy brushing up on the Lindy Hop for their annual “dinner and a show” political fundraiser next weekend.
The couple, who met as young rock n roll dance partners, are charging $150-a-ticket for a night of entertainment at the The Lakehouse Sunshine Coast.
Bleijie’s electorate staffer Aydan Rusev has been roped in to organise the shindig, which will feature “sassy” Sunshine Coast trio, The Kitty Kats.
Getting your electorate staff to do your political bidding is a big no no, but the LNP assures Chooks that Rusev has done all prep work for the big night in his own time.
Spotted #1
Annastacia Palaszczuk made a soft-relaunch on the socials this week.
The former Queensland premier has been totally absent from Facebook, Instagram and X since she posted about her resignation on December 10.
But her profile photo was updated on all three platforms on Thursday afternoon and quickly racked up dozens of gushing comments.
Chooks suspected something was afoot and less than 24-hours later it was announced Palaszczuk would join the Australia Post Board as a non-executive director.
Palaszczuk is expected to be paid $107,180 according to the most recent Remuneration Tribunal Determination.
Spotted #2
Brisbane’s Ekka is prime hunting ground for Queensland retail politicians.
Steven Miles popped past the iconic strawberry sundae stand on Monday morning for a quick photo opportunity, but it was his daughter Bridie and deputy, Cameron Dick, who stuck around to do the hard yards sweetening up voters.
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