Queensland election: Annastacia Palaszczuk ‘too busy’ to reprimand frontbenchers flirting with One Nation

Annastacia Palaszczuk has been too busy to ‘read the Riot Act’ to those defying her direction to tell voters to put One Nation last, despite insisting she would.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: Dan Peled

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has been too busy to “read the Riot Act” to her regional frontbenchers and candidates defying her direction to tell voters to put One Nation last, despite insisting she would.

Campaigning in the regional LNP electorate of Burdekin, Ms Palaszczuk was dogged by questions on several of her north Queensland frontbenchers, MPs and candidates spruiking mat­erial telling voters to “put the LNP last”.

The guerrilla campaign is flourishing in marginal electorates where the One Nation vote is strong, and preferences from the minor party’s voters could be critical for Labor candidates to hold or win seats.

On Wednesday, fresh “put the LNP last” signs were spotted in Labor frontbencher Brittany Lauga’s Keppel seat, and Burdekin candidate Mike Brunker was still sharing Facebook posts with the message. The signs were also seen in Aaron Harper’s Townsville electorate of Thuringowa.

A One Nation spokesman said people holding signs in Keppel on Wednesday had been wearing Labor shirts the day before.

Asked whether she had “read the Riot Act” to frontbenchers Ms Lauga and Craig Crawford over the campaign material, Ms Palas­zczuk said she’d delegated the task to state secretary Julie-Ann Campbell. “The party secretary has spoken to everyone, and everyone is under no illusion, and as they know by their how-to-vote cards, that One Nation is last,” she said.

“Mike (Brunker) and I had a good chat this morning. I’m very busy at the moment, we can divide our time quite equally.”

She chose not to condemn the campaign by the Queensland Council of Unions but said: “On our how-to-vote cards, the Australian Labor Party’s how-to-vote cards, One Nation is last, I’ve made it abundantly clear.

“We have Deb Frecklington doing deals with all of the other parties, that would be a recipe for chaos in Queensland.

“This is what I’ll say about the unions: the unions will stand up for working men and women across this state.”

Mr Brunker — alongside Ms Palaszczuk at Wednesday’s road-funding press conference — said she had not read him the Riot Act.

“The Premier asked me yesterday to withdraw a (social media) post,” he said.

“The trouble I’ve got is a ­coalition of conservative chaos working against me … you’ve got the LNP, you’ve got One Nation, you’ve got the Katters, all sitting in a tent and having coffee. I’m not defying the Premier, there’s my how-to-card, One Nat­ion last,” he said, brandishing a printout of his how-to-vote card.