Senior Palaszczuk allies rally round to support ‘red-carpet’ Premier

Annastacia Palaszczuk made another red-carpet appearance on Sunday night as her factional heir-apparent made clear he had “zero interest” in becoming premier.

Dr Reza Adib and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk at the TV Week Logie awards night at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre. Picture: 7News Twitter

Annastacia Palaszczuk made another red-carpet appearance on Sunday night as her factional heir-apparent made clear he had “zero interest” in becoming premier.

The Premier rubbed shoulders with the A-listers of Australian television and showbiz at the TV Week Logie awards on the Gold Coast, two days before her Treasurer, Cameron Dick, hands down the state budget.

Mr Dick’s pre-budget press conference on Sunday, which was meant to sell the government’s $3.5bn rail network investment, was instead dominated by ­questions about Ms Palaszczuk’s leadership and the Labor Party’s relationship with lobbyists. Mr Dick and other senior colleagues have been forced to defend Ms Palaszczuk after Labor insiders told The Australian the Premier had “checked out” and become a “part-time premier”.

Disgruntled MPs and high-level public servants have privately complained that Ms Palaszczuk was more interested in walking the red carpet than knuckling down to the grind of governing.

Speaking to The Sunday Mail, former Queensland Labor premier Peter Beattie said Ms Palas­zczuk could reboot her gov­ernment and use the 2032 Brisbane Olympics to lead the country as part of a new innovation agenda.

He said voters knew when a government became “stale” and “will want someone else to have a go”. Governments needed to share a vision with the people, he said. “In the end you can actually do this if you’re smart enough.’’

Mr Dick rejected claims the Premier had “checked out” while Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard said Ms Palaszczuk was “hardworking” and set a “cracking pace”.

“Major events that bring tourism to Queensland, that are important for our economic development, of course they are things you would expect to see any premier at,” Ms Linard said on Saturday.

Mr Dick, the most senior member of Queensland Labor’s Right faction after Ms Palaszczuk, insisted he had “zero interest in being the premier” and he backed his leader “100 per cent”.

“I am delivering my third budget on Tuesday and I look forward to delivering at least another six.”

Treasurer Cameron Dick making a budget announcement about rail investment. Photo: Patrick Woods

Ms Palaszczuk’s Logie appearance came as her government faces a deepening integrity crisis.

The Crime and Corruption Commission on Friday announced it would further probe ties between government and lobbyists, saying corruption risks had “intensified” since the 2020 state election campaign.

After launching a secret investigation last year, the CCC found a small number of key players with political connections “appear to have a disproportionate amount of access to government decision-makers”.

An investigation by The Australian in April found three Labor-linked firms secured 70 per cent of all meetings granted to lobbyists by Ms ­Palaszczuk’s government.

Mr Dick said he did not believe Labor-aligned lobbyists had an easier time getting access to ­government.

Griffith University political analyst Paul Williams said Ms Palas­zczuk remained Labor’s “best asset”, despite battling crises on multiple fronts.

“She is not exactly teflon, she is going to take a huge hit over this integrity crisis,” Dr Williams said.

“But that is a long-term incumbency government’s problem, not a leadership problem.

“You would have to see a pretty major implosion of Palaszczuk for a leadership spill to be a live ­option – at the moment it is not.”