George Brandis caught slamming the LNP as ‘very, very mediocre’

George Brandis has been caught criticising the Queensland Liberal Nat­ional Party as ‘very, very mediocre’.

George Brandis has a hot mic moment on Sky News.

The Attorney-General, George Brandis, has been caught criticising the Queensland Liberal Nat­ional Party as “very, very mediocre” under the leadership of Tim Nicholls.

The most senior LNP MP, Senator Brandis’s frank assessment was in response to a question from Victorian Liberal powerbroker Michael Kroger at a party meeting at the weekend and was captured on a live microphone.

In footage broadcast on Sky News yesterday, Mr Kroger is heard asking about Queensland and the performance of Mr Nicholls, a former state treasurer who usurped Lawrence Springborg as Opposition Leader in May.

“They are not very good,” Senator Brandis told Mr Kroger.

“I’d say the state opposition is very, very mediocre, and the state government is very, very ­mediocre.

“But the thing that’s alarming everyone is, as you’d expect, the sudden spike in One Nation (support), which is now at about 16 per cent.”

Senator Brandis said Pauline Hanson’s party was likely to win seats at the next state election, given its support was strong in ­traditional heartlands for Labor and the LNP.

He noted that Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Labor government had pushed through the state’s minority parliament changes to Queensland’s voting system, by bringing back compulsory preferential voting. Senator Brandis told Mr ­Kroger this might prompt a re-evaluation of the merger of the conservative parties in Queensland, which occurred in 2008.

“Yes, they are (bringing back compulsory preferential voting) which somewhat attacks the raison d’etre of the merger of the ­Liberal party and the National party,” he told Mr Kroger.

“I think there might be some revisiting of things as a result of compulsory preferential voting.”

Mr Nicholls, who was visiting a hospital in Cairns in far north Queensland when Senator Brandis’s comments were aired yesterday, said he “strongly” disagreed with Senator Brandis’s comments.

“I lead a strong and effective Queensland opposition which is holding to account an incompetent, do-nothing government with no plans for Queensland,” he said.

“We recognise concerns from voters who do not believe they are being heard. That’s why my team is on the ground, listening to Queenslanders across the state.”

Mr Nicholls’s statement quoted LNP president Gary Spence, who said he did not support Senator Brandis’s comments. “Tim Nicholls and the state LNP opposition are a united and effective team, listening to the concerns of Queenslanders and developing comprehensive plans to get Queensland moving,” he said.

Senator Brandis’s comments were swiftly seized upon by Labor.

Federal Labor’s finance spokesman, Jim Chalmers, said “being called mediocre by George Brandis is like being called arrogant and out of touch by Malcolm Turnbull”.

“He hardly ever gets anything right, but in this case he’s not wrong about Tim Nicholls and the state LNP,” Dr Chalmers said.