Desperate Steven Miles falls back on fear

Queensland Premier Steven. Picture: NewsWire / Tertius Pickard

Steven Miles is showing that he is desperate.

Just over a month out from election day and Queensland’s Labor Premier gave an insight into the type of campaign he intends to lead with his attack on the ascendant Liberal National Party over abortion.

Claiming the LNP intends to wind back 2018 laws decriminalising abortion, Miles has even invoked the language of the current US presidential race by alleging his rival, David Crisafulli, “plans to legislate control of women’s bodies”.

While the American discourse is based in fact from the fallout of the US Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning the right to abortion, Miles’s accusation is an attempt at fanning flames where there is no spark.

Crisafulli has dodged and weaved on his position over a range of important policy issues, but he has been uncharacteristically clear on where he stands on abortion. He voted against the reforms in 2018 but for more than a year the LNP leader has said if elected premier, he would not change the law and would maintain funding of related abortion services.

Times have changed since the legislation was championed by Labor’s then deputy premier, Jackie Trad, and only three LNP MPs supported its passage, despite threats of disendorsement by party headquarters. Then, the LNP organisation was dominated by male Christian hardliners who seemed to enjoy pushing the parliamentary team around.

Not anymore. Crisafulli appears to be in lock-step with the new guard at LNP HQ in their determination to secure power.

To do that, they have to win seats in Labor’s stronghold in southeast Queensland where so-called socially progressive issues are important to a lot of voters.

For evidence, look no further than the 2022 federal election when the Greens won three seats in Brisbane.

That’s why Miles and his government are going to do anything they can to try to undermine the LNP on issues like abortion.

Crisafulli was quick to sign up to Labor’s emissions targets to ensure it didn’t become a wedge, but that won’t stop Miles trying to make it an issue.

Labor has been able to hold on to state government over the past decades with political performers like Peter Beattie but also with attacks on the then coalition and its merged successor, the LNP.

With successive polls showing that Labor is still on the nose after billions of dollars in hand-outs to voters in recent months, Miles looks like he has nothing left going for him but a scare ­campaign.