LNP sharpens ‘circus’ attack as Palaszczuk quits

The Liberal National Party will continue to attack Annastacia Palaszczuk’s successor, claiming the government is still the ‘same chaos and crisis Labor circus’ regardless of the ‘ringmaster’.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announcing her retirement. Picture: Liam Kidston

The Liberal National Party will continue to attack Annastacia Palas­zczuk’s successor by claiming the government is still the “same chaos-and-crisis Labor circus” regardless of the “ringmaster”.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli stayed above the political fray on Sunday and said Ms Palas­zczuk’s nine-year stint as Premier deserved “acknowledgment and respect”, but his deputy Jarrod Bleijie was dispatched to throw bombs.

Mr Bleijie said Ms Palaszczuk’s resignation was a “calculated cunning Christmas coup” orchestrated by Deputy Premier Steven Miles and Health Minister Shannon Fentiman, and said Queenslanders should decide the Premier.

“The ringmaster may change, but the same clowns are there; it’s the same chaos-and-crisis Labor circus, it’s the same Labor Party,” he said.

LNP leader David Crisafulli stayed above the political fray.

LNP deputy Jarrod Bleijie said Ms Palaszczuk’s resignation was a “calculated cunning Christmas coup”. Picture: Mitch Bourke.

The LNP, which is leading Labor in the latest published opinion polls as both parties prepare for next October’s state election, is planning to rebadge its “musical chairs” attack ads from September, which show Cameron Dick, Mr Miles and Ms Fentiman battling to topple Ms Palaszczuk.

A Resolve Strategic poll, published by the Brisbane Times last week, showed the LNP led Labor on primary vote 37 per cent to 33 per cent. Mr Crisafulli had increased his lead over Ms Palas­zczuk as preferred premier 39 per cent to 34 per cent, with 28 per cent undecided.

A year ago, the third-term leader had a 12-point lead over the LNP opposition leader.

A senior LNP source said focus groups consistently showed Ms Palaszczuk was popular with “soft” or swinging voters, and direct political attacks on her backfired. The source said they expected the polls to tighten in the weeks after the leadership change, unless it was a “complete shitshow”, and predicted Labor could even pull ahead of the LNP for a short time while the honeymoon period lasted.

Youth crime, health and cost of living under Labor are likely to remain the LNP’s target areas.

LNP state director Ben Riley emailed members on Sunday to urge them to donate to the party and “redouble our efforts to stay disciplined”. “Nothing will change unless we can change the government,” Mr Riley said.

The impact on Anthony Albanese’s Labor Party is less clear. The Prime Minister must call an election by mid-2025, and the ALP holds just five of Queensland’s 30 lower house seats.

One federal Labor figure said while Ms Palaszczuk’s decision to quit was unlikely to help the ALP win more seats in the state at the next election, it would not hurt.

“It’s a positive for us to have change. I don’t think it’ll help us win seats in Queensland necessarily, but it was getting to a point that Queensland Labor was a drag on the Labor brand overall,” they said. “This is a chance to refresh that.”