Queensland election: ‘Transparent’ Premier Steven Miles tight-lipped on union deals

Premier Steven Miles has refused to detail backroom negotiations organised by his union in the days after Annastacia Palaszczuk’s resignation.

Premier Steven Miles visits pre-polling at Mackay Showgrounds and meets Viv Clerc, 10 months. Picture: Adam Head

Steven Miles launched a blitz regional Labor-held seats on Thursday as he refused to detail backroom negotiations organised by his union in the days after Annastacia Palaszczuk’s resignation and denied any deal had been struck to install him as premier.

One day after declaring he would give “clear and honest answers”, Mr Miles contradicted several senior Labor and union sources who confirmed the existence of a factional deal that stitched up support to deliver him the premiership.

Treasurer Cameron Dick and his 18-member Right faction threw their support behind Mr Miles hours after a backroom deal was struck between union bosses, cruelling the chances of Health Minister Shannon Fentiman, who had declared her plans to run for the leadership.

Multiple sources briefed on the negotiations said the agreement between Gary Bullock, boss of Mr Miles’ union, the United Workers Union, and Australian Workers’ Union leader Stacey Schinnerl was centred on the government’s Best Practice Industry Conditions Policy, which forces unions and contractors to negotiate agreements on government-funded civil construction projects worth more than $100m.

Ms Schinnerl had been unsuccessfully lobbying the government for months, anxious the policy gave militant construction union the CFMEU and its members an advantage in civil construction and road-building projects. Both unions have been battling for industrial coverage on the lucrative taxpayer-funded projects, which traditionally fell into the AWU’s jurisdiction.

Part of the factional deal also moved the senior transport and main roads portfolio – which has oversight of the $6.3bn Cross River Rail project that has been at the centre of the CFMEU and AWU stoush – from Mr Miles’s Left faction to Mr Dick’s Right faction.

At a press conference in Mackay, a seat held by Labor for more than a century but under threat of falling to the LNP, Mr Miles denied there was any deal done, or that discussion had been had, about securing the AWU better coverage on civil construction projects.

“There was no deal, the agreement was set between Cameron and I, and we agreed to run together as a team,” he said.

Mr Dick – who has always pushed back against union influence over the parliamentary Labor Party – would not be drawn on his knowledge of what discussions were had by his union, the AWU. “So you’ll have to put it to the union and get an answer from them,” he said.

“I don’t know what unions talk about, because I can tell you, in the Labor Party and in the industrial movement in this state, unions discuss issues each and every day.”

The AWU did not respond to The Australian’s questions about what was discussed at the meeting between Mr Bullock and Ms Schinnerl or what was agreed to. The UWU declined to comment.

After announcing $23.5m for a stadium expansion in Mackay, the pair travelled to Townsville to pledge $2m to expand the city’s Ronald McDonald House before flying on to Cairns for the night.

Mr Dick also confirmed the state’s total government debt would reach $180bn by mid-2028, up from the $172bn predicted in June, after Labor pledged to borrow billions to fund its election commitments.

“We’re going to continue to borrow to build because we’ve got the strength of our balance sheet and the strength of our budget to deliver that,” Mr Dick said.

“You couldn’t have a greater contrast to the LNP, who refuse to not only tell Queensland what is the total cost of their commitments, they refuse to say how they are going to fund them.”