Queensland election: Jackie Trad firms as winner in South Brisbane

Labor strategists are increasingly confident Jackie Trad will win her marginal seat of South Brisbane.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk at the Downer train building facility in Maryborough on Tuesday. Picture: Dan Peled

Labor strategists are increasingly confident Jackie Trad will win her marginal seat of South Brisbane, as Premier Annastacia Palas­zczuk struggled to explain why she did not want her former deputy back in cabinet.

Ms Trad is facing a major challenge from the Greens in her inner-Brisbane electorate, which she holds by 3.55 per cent, but several Labor insiders say the minor party’s support is dropping off in the city, and Ms Trad “will hold her seat”.

One strategist said Ms Trad’s fortunes in South Brisbane had improved since her resignation from cabinet in May, allowing her to focus on winning her seat.

Ms Trad quit cabinet during a corruption investigation, before being cleared of criminal conduct.

Campaigning in the Labor regional electorate of Maryborough (held by Bruce Saunders on 2.46 per cent), Ms Palaszczuk could not say why she had decided Ms Trad would not return.

“Next question,” she said.

“Jackie said that she had no intention of returning back to cabinet and I made it very clear she will not be sitting in the cabinet.”

In a Facebook post on Monday, Ms Trad said she was “not seeking a return to cabinet”.

“I am actually in the fight of my political life,” she said.

Left faction powerbroker Gary Bullock, leader of Queensland’s United Workers Union, has contradicted Ms Palaszczuk’s declaration, saying the make-up of the ministry would be determined by the ALP’s “democratic processes”.

“The Labor Party has democratic processes that will determine who is in cabinet, but our focus must be to win the election and see Labor’s commitments for massive investments in health and education delivered,” he said.

The “democratic processes” Mr Bullock is referring to is the influence of Labor’s three factions on the selection of which caucus members are promoted to cabinet. While Ms Palaszczuk would decide which ministries are allocated to which MPs, the factions choose who is in the cabinet room.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles, who was promoted into the leadership position after Ms Trad’s May resignation, said the Left caucus was “very strongly supporting the Premier” in her decision to exclude Ms Trad from a future cabinet.

“Of course it’s a democratic process and the Labor party is democratic,” he said.

The LNP has seized on speculation about Ms Trad, appealing to supporters to donate to the party’s “fighting fund” to “stop Dodgy Jackie” by helping the LNP to win the election.

“Palaszczuk was weak during Dodgy Jackie’s investment property scandal,” an email from LNP campaign director Lincoln Folo reads. “Now she’s being weak again, rolling out the carpet for Jackie’s comeback … the last thing Queensland needs is Premier Trad in 2021.”