Rebel takes on Anna Bligh over sell-off

ANOTHER of Anna Bligh's senior MPs has vowed to pursue the Queensland Premier's controversial privatisation agenda in the state caucus.

ANOTHER of Anna Bligh's senior MPs has vowed to pursue the Queensland Premier's controversial privatisation agenda in the state caucus.

This has brought post-election tensions over her leadership into the open.

Former minister Lindy Nelson-Carr pointedly baulked at endorsing Ms Bligh's leadership yesterday, and said she would raise the sell-off of public assets when MPs meet next Monday ahead of the resumption of state parliament.

Ms Nelson-Carr's intervention echoed that of another former state minister, Dean Wells, intensifying pressure on Ms Bligh after her government's unpopularity was blamed for Labor's dismal federal showing in Queensland.

Julia Gillard said before the election her chances were hurt by Labor's poor standing at state level in Queensland and NSW.

But Ms Bligh, who is national ALP president, hit back on Monday, saying she would not be made a scapegoat for the election result and have Queensland infected by "the NSW disease" of constant leadership changes.

NSW Premier Kristina Keneally said Labor's federal losses in her state were well short of the seven ALP seats that changed hands in Queensland, as well as two other notionally Labor ones that stayed with the conservatives.

Ms Nelson-Carr said the state's privatisation program, along with the dumping of Kevin Rudd, were the main causes of Labor's poor showing in Queensland.

After ignoring a number of invitations to express support for the Premier, Ms Nelson-Carr said the asset sales had been proposed "under the Anna Bligh leadership".

"We have to accept responsibility for all of this. I acknowledge we have very deep concerns," Ms Nelson-Carr told ABC radio.

Asked whether the state government could claim it was listening to the voters when it would not budge on privatisation, the Townsville-based MP said: "Well, that's my view."

Ms Nelson-Carr has been in parliament since 1998 and served as communities minister from 2007 to the 2009 election, after which she said she was disappointed not to have been recalled to the ministry by Ms Bligh. She has said she will retire at the next state election, due by early 2012.

Mr Wells, another state Labor veteran, served in environment and education in the Beattie government, as attorney-general under Wayne Goss in the 1990s, and before that was a federal MP.

The Australian understands Labor powerbroker and Australian Workers Union state secretary Bill Ludwig carpeted Mr Wells after he went public.

Mr Ludwig's refusal to comment publicly on the federal election result and Queensland's role sparked speculation he was distancing himself from Ms Bligh, a proposition rejected by other senior figures in the state ALP.

While Ms Bligh's leadership is increasingly precarious -- it was in trouble well before Saturday, with accusations she stole last year's state election by failing to disclose the privatisation plans -- the Labor caucus closed ranks to support her yesterday.

Ms Bligh refused to comment on Ms Nelson-Carr's remarks, but said: "I welcome discussion of these issues."