Steven Miles to chair first cabinet without Annastacia Palaszczuk

Annastacia Palaszczuk’s cabinet will meet without her on Monday, believed to be the first time the weekly meeting has been held without the premier during her almost nine year reign.

Annastacia Palaszczuk’s cabinet will meet in her absence on Monday, believed to be the first time the weekly meeting has been held without the Premier during her almost nine-year tenure.

Frontrunning leadership contender Steven Miles will chair Monday’s meeting amid growing speculation within Labor ranks over whether Ms Palaszczuk can lead the party to its fourth consecutive election win next year.

Ms Palaszczuk has previously scheduled leave when cabinet is not due to meet, or it has been postponed in her absence. It was not held last Monday because ministers were attending regional community forums across the state.

Her office believes Monday will be the first time cabinet has met without her since she became Premier in early 2015. A senior government source said it was on the Premier’s insistence that cabinet met while she continues a two-week Italian holiday with her surgeon partner, Reza Adib.

Mr Miles confirmed on Sunday he had not spoken with her since she went on leave.

“I always do my very best not to interrupt holidays, it would take an emergency for me to do that,” he said.

“I look forward to seeing her back at work in a week’s time.

“None of the anonymous quotes that you’ve seen in the media, none of those people have said those things to me. So if people do hold those concerns, they all have my number, they’re all welcome to contact me.”

A government spokeswoman said: “Cabinet is meeting as usual and (will) continue to work hard for the people of Queensland.”

Mr Miles, 45, is the leading contender to replace Ms Palaszczuk when she decides to quit politics.

The former union official leads the dominant Left faction in parliament, which controls the numbers in cabinet and caucus.

Despite the public displays of support in the past week, many in the party believe Ms Palaszczuk’s political future is increasingly “terminal”. But Labor Party rules in Queensland make it difficult for her to be ousted by internal rivals, and she has previously ­indicated she plans to lead Labor to the next poll.

Key sections of the party have privately said she needed to be convinced to go, and one influential Labor figure told The Australian there needed to be a “deal done” to secure her exit ahead of the ­October 2024 election.

On Sunday, a senior Labor source said it now felt “inevitable” Ms Palaszczuk would leave before the next election.

Union boss and leading political powerbroker Gary Bullock is key to determining whether the party should change leaders.

Mr Bullock, a United Workers Union official and member of Labor’s national executive, has refused to publicly declare his support for Ms Palaszczuk. Of Labor’s 52-person caucus, 34 MPs – 65 per cent – belong to the Left or are card-carrying members of Mr Bullock’s UWU, or both.

In cabinet, his influence is even greater: 12 of 18 ministers (67 per cent) are aligned with him, including Mr Miles, who is affiliated with the UWU.

Despite Mr Bullock’s numbers, some in the party believe Health Minister Shannon Fentiman remains a frontrunner to replace Ms Palaszczuk.

One Labor MP said there was cross-factional support among the parliamentary team for Ms Fentiman, the most senior member of the Left behind Mr Miles.

“Everyone is looking out for their own political chances, there are people who think we would have the best shot (at the next election) with Shannon as leader and would back her if they aren’t head-kicked by the unions,” the MP said. “Miles has the numbers, but some of the UWU MPs are affiliated with other unions as well so it would probably only take a few of them to back Shannon.”