Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s order: stick with me, or go

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has given her ministers a seven week deadline to decide whether they will stick with her or leave her struggling government.

Back at work: Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk speaks to the media during a press conference in Brisbane. Picture: NCA NewsWIRE/Tertius Pickard

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has given her ministers a seven week deadline to decide whether they will stick with her or leave her struggling government, as she stared down those who want her to give up the leadership saying politics needs “good people”.

After weeks of growing concerns that the party is facing a wipe-out at next year‘s election, the Premier said she was “refreshed” from her two-week Italian holiday and no cabinet minister had raised issues with her leadership.

Revealing she suffered a medical episode in June and was rushed to hospital for a few hours, Ms Palaszczuk said she was “fine now” and she needed to stay on as premier to show “good people” could lead governments and to give Queensland‘s young women and girls a role model.

“Politics needs good people, not selfish people, not ruthless people, not ambitious people,” she said.

“I‘ve been termed accidental (premier), I’ve been termed all these other terms over the years. But you know what? I’ve stood my ground and I think the young girls and the young women out there have a strong role model that says to them that women and girls can be anything they want to be in this state.”

Labor MPs were buoyed by Ms Palaszczuk‘s defiant performance, as she said cabinet ministers would have until the end of October to decide if they wanted to stay and fight the next election with her.

In 2020, three of Ms Palaszczuk’s ministers announced their retirements a less than a month before the election campaign began.

Of the 18-member cabinet, all told The Australian on Monday they intended to run except for Resources Minister Scott Stewart who said: “you will have to wait and see”.

Backbencher Jim Madden, who faced serious allegations of coercive control and bullying, is the only Labor MP who has confirmed they will quit politics next year.

At least one more male MP will have to resign before October to meet Labor’s gender quota rules.

Key sections of the Labor Party in Queensland do not believe they can win the October 2024 election if Ms Palaszczuk remains as leader, but there are no internal rivals willing to oust her.

Labor Party rules in Queensland – that give state MPs, branch members, and affiliated unions a third of the vote each in a leadership ballot that could take weeks- have deterred any of her colleagues from mounting a challenge.

Ms Palaszczuk said it was a “sign of a good leader”, that she had put together a team that could lead a lead Labor when she decides to retire.

“I mean, there is so much talent there, we are very blessed caucus.”

Labor sources said Ms Palaszczuk was applauded when she told colleagues she was staying on as leader at a closed-door meeting of the 52-member caucus on Monday afternoon.

“Let’s see how long it lasts, it might have bought her a couple of months,” one Labor MP said.

“She certainly came out and had a good day today, but she has to come out and keep that energy level up for the next six months.

“I think it has delayed things, but I don’t think it has put them to bed.”

Another MP said they hoped leadership speculation was a “wake-up call” for Ms Palaszczuk.

“I still don’t think people will be willing to take their concerns directly to her. It will be interesting to see how this week in parliament goes.”

A Right faction source, who last week told The Australian that Ms Palaszczuk “should leave on a high” and make way for someone with more energy, said she seemed to be making an effort to be more “approachable and engaging”.

“When you are up against the wall, you have to dust yourself off and realise you have to change a few things,” they said.

“She spoke from the heart (at the caucus meeting) and nobody said boo.

“She was emphatic she was staying … we will wait and see, a week is a long time in politics.”

Ms Palaszczuk committed to serving out the next full four-year term as Inala MP – the safest seat in the state which she holds on a 28.2 per cent margin – even if Labor loses government.

She recognised there were disgruntled MPs and speculation about her leadership, but said nobody had raised concerns directly with her.

“I‘m not saying it’s made up … if people have concerns, they know I have an open door and they know that they can come and speak to me,” she said.

“It is my job to explain things better to the caucus and better to Queenslanders.

“I‘m always happy to improve of course, I think that makes us better people.”

Leadership chatter was exacerbated by the Queensland government’s “disastrous” week in parliament before Ms Palaszczuk went on leave, with the premier blamed for mishandling controversial youth crime measures.

Last-minute legislative amend­ments were rushed through parliament to make it legal to detain children in adult jails and police watch houses, dodging the usual parliamentary committee scrutiny and overriding the human rights act.

The changes were widely ­attacked by the state opposition, minor parties, legal and policing experts.

A Labor MP said Ms Palaszczuk addressed her handling of the issue at Monday’s caucus.

“She was open about the fact we botched it. Not the policy, but the way it was communicated,” they said.

“That is all good in hindsight, but what is going to happen when there is the next cock-up?”

Ms Palaszczuk said she felt she needed a two-week holiday because the upcoming bushfire season could mean she will not get time off over summer.

“This was seen as my last decent break, that got interrupted, before a state election.”

Unrest among the backbenchers grew at the weekend with the release of new polling, that showed the third-term Labor government was headed towards thumping defeat next year. Polling puts the LNP in a commanding lead with 55 per cent of the vote after preferences, against 45 per cent for Labor.

The RedBridge Group survey of more than 2000 Queensland voters, between August 26 and last Wednesday, delivered a blow to Labor morale ahead of Ms Palaszczuk’s return.

Addressing the fourth successive poll showing Labor was set to lose, Ms Palaszczuk said: “The only poll that counts is on election day and I’ve been the underdog on many occasions”.

Education Minister Grace Grace, a senior member of the government and one of Ms Palaszczuk’s closest colleagues, said the Premier was “one of the most successful female politicians in Australia’s history”.

“She has done an excellent job and she will continue to represent the people of Queensland until she decides she doesn’t want to anymore.