Editor’s view: Steven Miles deserves credit, but is it too late

Steven Miles deserves credit for a likeable public persona and a rigorous work schedule, but with less than 100 days until the state election and poll numbers dire, it’s unlikely he’ll be able to turn the ship around.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles says he is contrite, conciliatory and determined to work even harder in the face of the latest polling which puts Labor on track to lose 23 seats in the looming October election.

The latest YouGov poll results put Opposition Leader David Crisafulli in the Premier’s office come the October 26 election.

Mr Miles, in an interview with state political editor Hayden Johnson, accepts he still has much work to do to over the next 100 days to win over disillusioned voters. But he has a determination to deliver, he says.

Premier Steven Miles during a media conference in Brisbane. Picture: Liam Kidston

Yet Miles was in much the same state of mind in March after a far more consequential “poll’’ in the form of the Ipswich West and Inala by-elections. Those contests – and their massive swings against Labor – sent an unequivocal message that voters had lost faith in the Miles administration, and the Premier’s fortunes have not improved since.

The housing crisis is still unfolding, along with the evaporating chances of interest rate relief this year, while household budgets are still being squeezed by an inflationary spiral which refuses to go away.

These might be issues which are more the responsibility of the federal government, but they still add to the rising angst among ordinary Queenslanders about politicians of all persuasions.

Add to that list the ongoing problem of juvenile crime and the sudden eruption of union strife in the form of the revelations this week about the actions of the CFMEU, and Miles begins to look like a man under siege – forced to battle fires on multiple fronts.

The Premier has to be given credit for an affable and likeable public persona, reflected in the public’s increasing satisfaction with the way he doing his job.

His rigorous work schedule in the seven months since he took office – which began with on-the-ground engagement with flood-stricken North Queenslanders straight after taking office last December, and has hardly stopped since – also deserves recognition

But the window always narrows, and time has now become a very precious commodity to Labor.

After nearly a decade in power, it is doubtful there’s enough left to turn the ship around – no matter what Mr Miles says to voters.

Originally published as Editor’s view: Steven Miles deserves credit, but is it too late