Factions jostle for ministries inAnnastacia Palaszczuk’s new Cabinet
Annastacia Palaszczuk says she won’t take advice from the unions to select her new Cabinet, but Labor’s factions are already doing the numbers to select new ministers.
Annastacia Palaszczuk says she won’t take any advice from the unions in selecting her new cabinet, but Labor’s factions are already doing the numbers to select new ministers.
A jubilant Ms Palaszczuk on Sunday said she would announce and swear in a fresh frontbench once the Queensland election count had been finalised, committing only to keeping her Deputy Premier and Health Minister Steven Miles and Treasurer Cameron Dick in their current roles.
She said the trio would “roll up their sleeves” from Monday to prepare to deliver Queensland’s overdue budget in the first week of December, with a full Estimates program after that to challenge new ministers.
Ms Palaszczuk will need to find replacements for three retiring ministers from her former 18-member cabinet: State Development Minister Kate Jones (Old Guard faction), Mines Minister Anthony Lynham (Right) and Communities Minister Coralee O’Rourke (Left).
The defeat of former deputy premier and treasurer Jackie Trad – who lost her seat of South Brisbane to the Greens – has also stripped Labor ranks of experience.
Asked on Sunday whether she would take advice from the unions on the cabinet reshuffle, Ms Palaszczuk said “no”. But during the campaign, when she declared Ms Trad would not return to cabinet if she was re-elected, Left faction convenor and United Workers’ Union boss Gary Bullock contradicted her, saying “democratic processes” governed the selection of cabinet ministers.
While the factions choose who ends up in Cabinet, depending on the breakdown of the caucus, Ms Palaszczuk selects who is given which portfolio.
After Saturday’s election, the factional balance in the Labor caucus remains largely the same as the previous term, with a slight shift in power to Ms Palaszczuk’s Right faction.
In the last parliament, the dominant Left faction had 23 MPs, the Right had 16, and the small Old Guard had eight, with Maryborough MP Bruce Saunders factionally unaligned.
On current counting, the Left is still on 23 – picking up Caloundra’s Jason Hunt and Pumicestone’s Ali King – and the Right is now on 17, with Jimmy Sullivan replacing Dr Lynham in the seat of Stafford, and Les Walker replacing the Left’s Coralee O’Rourke in the Townsville electorate of Mundingburra.
The Old Guard remains on eight MPs – victims of crime advocate Jonty Bush has replaced Ms Jones in the inner-Brisbane electorate of Cooper.
The factions were on Sunday night frantically placing calls to possible new Labor MP Adrian Tantari, who looked increasingly likely to take the coastal regional seat of Hervey Bay from the LNP, and is factionally unaligned but has been linked with the Right. According to party convention, each of the factions will be able to nominate at least one new minister to replace the retiring frontbenchers.
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