Michael McKenna
Labor relying on Greens’ help to survive in Brisbane, new research shows
G’day readers, and welcome back to another edition of Feeding the Chooks, your weekly peek behind the curtain of the bruising and often baffling world of Queensland politics.
PALASZCZUK’S POOR POLLING
Secret polling shows Annastacia Palaszczuk and Queensland Labor are “cactus” in the regions and reliant on their Greens mates for survival in parts of Brisbane.
Labor insiders have been chattering over the past few days about the new research, which is likely to stoke discontent within party ranks about the premier’s leadership.
Palaszczuk has stared down her internal critics since returning from an Italian holiday this month and despite there being no lack of ambition in the caucus, there is demonstrably a lack of intestinal fortitude among her wannabe successors.
Several sources have told Chooks that the polling backs up previous published research indicating that the Palaszczuk government will be thumped at next October’s state election.
“It shows the government’s f---ed in the regions, and still cactus on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast,” a senior Labor source says.
“It’s not as bad in Brisbane, some of that has to do with the Greens doing OK and we’re getting support back in preference flows.”
The polling also shows that Palaszczuk does have some support in Brisbane, and that Liberal National Party Opposition leader David Crisafulli is “an unknown”.
No one is laying claim to commissioning the polling, and ALP state secretary Kate Flanders has dismissed suggestions that it was ordered by party headquarters.
“We haven’t done any quantitative polling this month,” Flanders tells Chooks.
The resignation this week of Victorian Labor PremierDan Andrews has sharpened the internal debate in Queensland about the future of Palaszczuk, whose personal support has been in free fall for nearly a year in published polls.
“Daniel Andrews and his government have just won an election and are still riding high in the polls, and he leaves at the top of his game,” a Queensland Labor MP says.
“Palaszczuk and her government are in the opposite position, and she’s saying she’s going to take us to the election.”
The Premier has spent time in the last couple of weeks in Cairns and Townsville, but a Labor insider in the north says “she spent most of her time talking up the Olympics” in the perilously marginal Labor seats.
“That’d be the last thing I’d be talking about,” the insider says.
A Labor MP says Palaszczuk “has been trying to appear strong in her leadership” since getting back from her overseas break.
“I don’t think she knows who the enemy is since she’s been back; she’s probably trying to find out who said what,” the MP says.
PARTY TIME
Queensland pollies claimed more than $150,000 in taxpayer-funded travel entitlements to attend political party meetings last year.
Rather than paying out of their own pockets, Labor MPs billed taxpayers $19,258 to attend the party’s June love-in in Mackay.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles claimed $1828 for return flights to the sugar city, but tacked on a couple of work meetings during his trip.
Ministers Mick de Brenni, Mark Furner, Scott Stewart, Stirling Hinchliffe, Craig Crawford and Glenn Butcher also claimed for travel to Mackay, along with other Labor MPs Nikki Boyd, Michael Healy, Jennifer Howard, James Martin, Lance McCallum, Corrine McMillan and Tom Smith.
Other Labor MPs that went to the state conference either paid their own way, or had their costs covered by the party because they were delegates.
It wasn’t just Labor pollies dipping into the public purse to fund travel to political events.
A group of LNP MPs billed taxpayers $53,297 for a trip to Townsville in March to attend the party’s state council meeting.
Parliament rules allow politicians to claim travel expenses for meetings of their political party or policy formulation body.
But is it the best use of taxpayer money?
The Premier’s office says “the Premier expects all MPs to abide by the rules of the parliament”.
The manager of opposition business Andrew Powell tells Chooks that LNP MPs also did “deep engagement” during their trip to Townsville.
“Not only did shadow cabinet hold a special meeting in Townsville, MPs spent days listening and engaging with residents in the suburbs, small and family businesses and their staff, health and hospital services, industry representatives, victims of crime, community groups and most importantly met hundreds of Townsville locals who were all incredibly welcoming,” he says.
NO SHOW
As if things couldn’t get worse for Annastacia Palaszczuk, she’s unwittingly stood up a group of bereaved cops on the eve of Police Remembrance Day.
The Premier had flagged she would drop into the Chinchilla police station on Thursday, after opening a solar farm nearby.
But after cancelling her trip out west, a communication breakdown between some of the government’s many spinners meant the police were not told Palaszczuk wasn’t coming.
The station had laid out morning tea, including a delicious-looking fruit platter, for the Premier’s visit but when the guest of honour failed to show, they popped it away for later.
Luckily, LNP MP Bryson Head was on hand on Thursday evening for a candlelight vigil for the remembrance day, and enjoyed the regifted feast.
Police Remembrance Day has a special significance in the local area this year, after two police officers were murdered and two more survived the deadly ambush at Wieambilla in December last year.
Palaszczuk’s office says there was a good reason for her absence.
“As the Premier needed to remain in Brisbane to announce increased support for victims of crime and attend Thursday night’s police memorial, it was no longer possible for the Premier to travel to Chinchilla.”
LOSING THEIR VOICE
As the support for an Indigenous Voice plunges around the country, many in the Yes campaign are desperate to do more to get the “soft nos” over the line.
Kate Flanders, the aforementioned Labor state secretary in Queensland, has spent her extra time doorknocking in suburbia, as has federal Sport Minister Anika Wells.
The LNP’s Sam O’Connor and Labor’s Jennifer Howard have both hosted forums with leading Yes campaigner and Cape York leader Noel Pearson.
Other state MPs have been actively campaigning in their spare time, including Labor backbencher Joan Pease.
“Any opportunity I have, I will speak about it,” Pease tells Chooks. “As a local community leader, I think it is important to make my position known”.
So what about Annastacia Palaszczuk?
Chooks asked her this week if she was doing enough to turn sentiment around for Yes campaign and she replied: “I was at the public march just recently with, I thought, tens of thousands of other people”.
“I am out there making sure people know my view.”
OODGEROO SHOWDOWN
Chooks has been leaked the campaign videos from LNP preselection candidates Amanda Stoker and Daniel Hobbs, who are vying to represent the party in the seat of Oodgeroo at next October’s state election.
Former federal MP Andrew Laming bowed out of the contest last week, after fronting a closed-door LNP state executive meeting to discuss the findings of the candidate vetting committee.
That leaves two, and the preselection date has been set for Saturday October 7.
In her clip, Stoker – a Sky News host, Australian Financial Review columnist, and former federal Senator for the LNP in Queensland – tells preselectors she’s a “fighter for small government, individual responsibility, strong families and free enterprise”.
“I’m prepared to make the case in the party room, in the media, and in our the community for why our beliefs have helped more people than any other known to history to achieve freedom, prosperity, better health, and a chance to achieve their unique dreams,” Stoker says.
“You know it, because I already do it.”
While Hobbs, an ordained Anglican priest and media consultant with lobbying firm SAS Group, says he’s running to fight “union socialism,” and says pointedly that he is motivated to “serve” and is not interested in “dogmatic ideologies”.
“Now’s the time for hope to overcome fear, for light to pierce the darkness of a Palaszczuk socialist government,” Hobbs says.
BOURNE TO RUN IN WEST
Labor faction-swapper and ‘Call me Sir’ MP Jim Madden in April announced his retirement from politics at the next election, leaving his seat of Ipswich West up for grabs.
Madden has insisted his departure is for health reasons, and not related to allegations of workplace bullying and coercive control reported by Chooks, which he denies.
But there’s still a factional fight simmering over whether the safe electorate belongs to the Right (Madden’s old faction) or the Left (Queensland Labor’s controlling group, to which Madden defected in 2020).
The Right is said to have the numbers in the branches, and their preferred candidate is Annastacia Palaszczuk’s staffer Wendy Bourne (a longtime local and former member of the Left).
But the Left may use its dominance in the party to insist they pick the nominee, with the faction’s backing swinging behind the Electrical Trades Union’s Neisha Traill.
Madden appears to be doing his bit to raise Traill’s profile in the electorate, asking her to officially represent him at the Ipswich State High School’s hair and beauty showcase in August.
“Unfortunately I was unable to attend in person as state parliament is sitting this week but Neisha advises me it was a special evening,” Madden told his Facebook followers.
Party HQ hasn’t made any moves to start preselection in the seat yet, and it’s unlikely any significant progress will happen until after the Voice referendum on October 14.
There’s intense speculation about which other Labor MPs and ministers will confirm they’re heading for the political exit by the Premier’s end-of-October deadline.
FOOTY FEVER
Annastacia Palaszczuk will fly to Sydney to watch the Penrith Panthers play the Brisbane Broncos on Sunday, in their first grand final since 2015.
But she’ll be watching the Brisbane Lions vs. Collingwood Magpies game on TV on Saturday night, a decision Chooks’ spies say the AFL is “a bit miffed” about.
In her place, she’ll send long-term Lions supporter and Education Minister Grace Grace.
Grace, whose family has been Lions members since the 1997 merger of the Bears and Fitzroy, is confident Brisbane will prevail.
“Oh God yes, of course,” she tells Chooks.
“I’ve never been to an AFL game in Melbourne before, so I feel very fortunate to be representing the Premier.”
WARD EXIT
James Mackay, the Liberal National Party councillor for the Brisbane City Council ward of Walter Taylor, is quitting, revealing he’s been battling the “intense impacts of long Covid”.
Mackay is the husband of popular ABC Radio Brisbane Afternoons presenter Kat Feeney and has represented the leafy inner-west local government seat since 2019, when he replaced Julian Simmons after Simmons quit council to run for the federal seat of Ryan.
“While our city bounced back stronger and more resilient following these global challenges (such as the Covid pandemic), my personal recovery from Covid has been a lot slower,” Mackay says.
“I always told myself I would give 100% to this job but I am no longer able to do this while battling the intense impacts of long Covid.”
The LNP will be able to slot a new councillor into Walter Taylor without a by-election before next March’s local government elections, under council rules.
Greens mayoral hopeful Jonathan Sriranganathan says the ward is being treated as “very winnable by the Greens,” who have again preselected international aid and development worker Michaela Sargent.
“We already have dozens of campaigners out on the ground, while the absence of any noticeable LNP campaign suggests (Brisbane LNP Lord Mayor Adrian) Schrinner has already given up on the electorate,” Sriranganathan says.
Sargent came second in Walter Taylor at the 2022 election; Mackay secured 54 per cent of the vote after preferences were distributed and Sargent got 46 per cent.
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