Steven Miles’s handouts are failing to sway Queensland voters

Steven Miles’s $3.7bn in cost-of-living giveaways has failed to win over voters with support for the third-term government in free fall.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles. Picture: Liam Kidston

Steven Miles’s $3.7bn in cost-of-living giveaways has failed to win over voters with support for the third-term government in free fall and the Queensland Premier on track to lead Labor to a comprehensive defeat at October’s state election.

New YouGov polling, published in The Courier-Mail 100 days out from the October 26 election, shows the Liberal Nat­ional Party has extended its lead over Labor on a statewide two-party-preferred basis of 57-43 per cent.

This would translate to a brutal defeat – and the loss of 24 seats – for Mr Miles if the 10.2 per cent swing against Labor was uniform across the state at the election.

LNP leader David Crisafulli’s opposition must win a net 12 seats to secure a ­majority in the 93-electorate parliament.

Labor strategists were banking on the big-­spending June budget, which included $1000 energy rebates and 50c public transport fares, to improve the party’s ­position.

Primary support for the ALP has plummeted to 26 per cent, just below the 26.7 per cent mustered by Anna Bligh’s government at the wipe-out 2012 election when Labor was reduced to seven seats.

Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli. Picture: Liam Kidston

The survey of 1019 voters, between July 8 and July 15, shows Mr Crisafulli continues to lead Mr Miles as preferred premier by 40 per cent to 29 per cent, with 31 per cent uncommitted.

The Premier’s satisfaction rating has jumped since the YouGov poll in April, from 25 per cent to 31 per cent this month. It is still well below the peak satisfaction rating of 57 per cent recorded by former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in September 2020.

Mr Miles became Premier in December after Ms Palaszczuk bowed to months of internal pressure to resign after almost a year of published polls showing her popularity had nosedived.

Unions had hoped the installation of Mr Miles would give the government, which swept to power under Ms Palaszczuk in 2015, a chance of winning another four-year term.

Under Ms Palaszczuk, Labor increased its seat count at three consecutive elections and won in 2020 with a primary vote of 39.6 per cent and a two-party-preferred result of 53.2 per cent to the LNP’s 46.8 per cent.

In the last YouGov poll before her resignation, published in Oct­ober 2023, her satisfaction rating was 32 per cent and primary party support was at 33 per cent.

Deputy Premier Cameron Dick on Thursday said the third-term government was “new” after the December leadership change.

“We are … united behind our leader and we are doing what matters for Queensland,” he said.

“David Crisafulli is the $1.20 favourite to be the next premier of Queensland … but Queenslanders have absolutely no idea how he will pay for all of the promises he’s making.”