Steven Miles gets nod as Queensland Premier in deal with Cameron Dick

Steven Miles is set to become Queensland’s next premier after a late night deal was brokered with Treasurer Cameron Dick, leaving rival Shannon Fentiman out in the cold.

Steven Miles is set to become Queensland’s next premier after a late night deal was brokered with Treasurer Cameron Dick.

Mr Dick and his 18-member Right faction have thrown their support behind Mr Miles after long negotiations between union bosses on Monday.

A Right faction MP said talks went late into Monday night.

“Everyone (in the Right) is supportive, everyone had their say and we covered every issue under the sun,” they said.

“But we all agreed this was the best path forward.”

Mr Miles, the parliamentary leader of the dominant Left faction, had the crucial backing of United Workers Union boss and Left convener Gary Bullock.

The deal has cruelled chances of Left faction leadership rival Shannon Fentiman, who declared her intention to nominate on Monday afternoon.

Mr Miles’ biggest union backer Gary Bullock had been locked in secret backroom deals in a bid to convince rival union leaders to ­install his hand-picked candidate as premier.

Mr Dick and his 18-member Right faction threw their support behind Mr Miles after long negotiations between union bosses on Monday.

Mr Miles, the parliamentary leader of the dominant Left faction, had the crucial backing of United Workers Union boss and Left convener Gary Bullock.

The Left faction convener and ­United Workers Union boss arranged a meeting with Right faction leader Mr Dick’s industrial ally, the AWU’s Stacey Schinnerl, on Monday, in an attempt to confirm Mr Dick as Mr Miles’ deputy in exchange for his factional support.

Mr Dick and the Right are emerging as Labor kingmakers, after Mr Dick was understood to have shelved his long-held personal ambitions to be Premier once he realised he did not have the numbers.

Treasurer Cameron Dick.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles.

Mr Dick wants to remain in his coveted Treasurer role and be promoted to Deputy Premier. He is also pushing for extra cabinet spots for the Right faction at the expense of the pint-sized Old Guard faction.

The leader of Ms Fentiman’s union, the AMWU’s Rohan Webb, had also been in talks with Ms Schinnerl on Monday.

Labor’s administrative committee was due to meet on Monday night to set an official timetable for opening nominations for premier.

The backroom negotiations were desperately being worked through ahead of a meeting of Labor MPs in Brisbane on Friday, where the caucus will formally ­decide who it wants as leader.

If there are more than two contenders when nominations close, a months-long ballot of the caucus, the rank-and-file ALP members, and affiliated unions will be ­triggered.

Ms Fentiman, the state’s Health Minister, formally declared her intention to run on Monday afternoon saying she had “significant support” within the caucus to lead Labor to the ­October 2024 poll, and was more likely than Mr Miles to be able to win. “I am here because I believe I am the best person to take us to the next election,” Ms Fentiman said.

“I think we all want to see a new leader as quickly as possible. I think that’s in the best interests of the party and the government going forward.”

Ms Fentiman’s decision to contest the leadership had split the powerful Left faction.

Considered by colleagues as Labor’s top communicator, Ms Fentiman appealed to MPs to support her over Mr Miles arguing she was better placed to lead renewal and change.

“I want a Queensland that promises a fairer and more optimistic future for the people of our state,” she said. “Our government must also have the maturity to admit where we have fallen short. We have to listen to Queenslanders in our suburbs and our regional communities to make sure that no one falls behind.”

After her announcement, Ms Fentiman’s backers were convinced they had the support of 13 MPs in the 25-member Left faction and were hopeful of getting over the line with the support of Mr Dick. They conceded that the nine-member Old Guard faction – all members of the United ­Workers Union – would likely back Mr Miles.

Shannon Fentiman on Monday. Picture: NCA NewsWIRE / John Gass

“It all comes down to what the Right does; they are the deciding factor,” said an MP backing Ms Fentiman.

A Right faction source said Mr Dick was poised as the “kingmaker” and said the rest of the group would follow him because “he rules the Right with an iron fist”.

Right backbencher Corrine McMillan was understood to be encouraging her factional colleagues to support Ms Fentiman, but other members of the Right have said they would prefer Mr Miles as premier.

One Right MP, who spoke on condition on anonymity, said the 18-member faction was still waiting to hear who Mr Dick would be supporting.

“There are a lot of talks happening, but people were impressed with how Fentiman performed (at her press conference). Her stocks are on the rise,” the MP said.

Mr Miles also fronted a press conference on Monday, after he was endorsed by outgoing Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in her shock Sunday resignation speech.

Providing an update on Tropical Cyclone Jasper, Mr Miles would not be drawn on leadership questions, but said he had “very smoothly” moved into the role of chairing the state’s disaster management committee.

“You all know my position: I issued a statement yesterday and said I wanted to be premier of the state,” he said. “I am focused, absolutely focused, on delivering a better, more focused government for Queenslanders and today that means focusing on preparedness for this cyclone and taking care of the Queenslanders who are affected by it.”

Mr Miles was flanked by ­Energy Minister Mick de Brenni, another senior member of the Left and the UWU, who refused to declare who he wanted as leader.

“I am not going to get into those discussions today,” he said.

“My focus, as the Deputy Premier’s is, is on the safety and wellbeing of Queenslanders.”

A source in Mr Miles’ camp was shaken by Ms Fentiman’s confidence in her support, expecting she would be talked out of nominating. The source warned that if the leadership was taken to a party-wide battle, the fight would be “dirty”. “Shannon’s assuming it’ll be a clean fight, but the lines are already ready to go: she’s soft on crime, she wanted to block the youth crime (reforms),” Mr Miles’ backer said.