David Crisafulli to install ‘eyes and ears’ in the north after thumping victory

Senior LNP sources have told The Australian David Crisafulli is ‘highly likely’ to appoint assistant ministers for north and central Queensland.

Queensland Police Commissioned Officers Union president Kerry Johnson with newly elected Premier David Crisafulli.

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David Crisafulli will move to strengthen his grip on regional Queensland after last weekend’s resounding election victory, with a push to bolster his outer ministry with tyro MPs to act as his “eyes and ears” in the state’s north.

The Liberal National Party annihilated Labor in regional Queensland, picking up at least an extra 10 seats north of Brisbane including Mackay and Rockhampton, which had been in ALP hands for nearly all of the past century.

Mr Crisafulli, who grew up in the north Queensland town of Ingham and held the Townsville-based seat of Mundingburra during the Newman government, remained locked in meetings on Tuesday over the makeup of his cabinet and directors-general.

Senior LNP sources have told The Australian Mr Crisafulli was “highly likely” to appoint assistant ministers for north and central Queensland, as was custom under the Beattie and Borbidge governments, to ensure he remained “responsive to problems” outside the southeast corner.

There was also speculation he would open a second premier’s office in Townsville or Cairns to boost government resources on the ground.

Queensland is the country’s most decentralised state with a little more than half the population living outside Brisbane.

The LNP picked up all three of Labor’s Townsville-based seats at the weekend’s election, along with the Far North Queensland seats of Cook, Barron River and Mulgrave. Labor has been left with just three confirmed seats north of Brisbane, Cairns, Gladstone and Bundaberg.

The Australian on Monday revealed the new LNP Premier was under pressure to cut “dead wood” from his frontbench and promote more regional MPs and women into his cabinet.

Insiders predict he will stack his outer ministry with new talent to give him options for a midterm reshuffle.

Visiting a police station on Tuesday, Mr Crisafulli ruled out promoting former federal senator Amanda Stoker, one of the LNP’s star candidates at the election, straight into cabinet. He would not be drawn on whether Ms Stoker, who recorded a monster primary vote swing of more 15 per cent on Saturday, would be made an assistant minister.

“I’m not doing a shopping list of everyone,” he said.

The reshuffled frontbench is expected to be sworn in on Friday, giving new ministers time over the weekend to prepare for their first cabinet meeting on Monday.

With counting still under way in a handful of seats, the Labor caucus is not expected to meet until early next week.

The Labor leadership is automatically spilled after an election defeat, but Steven Miles will to run unopposed as Opposition Leader, with Cameron Dick expected to remain his deputy.

There was some agitation from the Left to install Shannon Fentiman in the deputy position, but that is now considered “unlikely”.

Bundaberg MP Tom Smith, a member of the Left, is likely to be elevated into the shadow cabinet after fending off the LNP in his ultra marginal seat. Mr Smith, who won Bundaberg in the 2020 pandemic election by just nine votes, bucked huge regional swings against Labor and was leading the count by more than 800 votes on Tuesday evening.

The Right faction will be looking to replace at least two frontbenchers, Scott Stewart and Yvette D’Ath.