Palaszczuk leaves leadership rumblings behind as she goes on overseas holiday

Speculation about Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s future in the role has ramped up, with reported rumblings in Labor ranks forcing a senior cabinet minister to publicly defend his leader.

A Resolve Strategic poll conducted for this masthead and released earlier this month showed the David Crisafulli-led LNP move ahead of Labor for the first time.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is facing leadership rumblings ahead of next year’s poll.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

That, coupled with friendly-fire attacks on her government’s youth crime policies in parliament, has raised the political heat on the woman who led Labor out of the wilderness in just one term after being reduced to just seven seats by the Newman juggernaut in 2012.

On Saturday, The Australian reported senior Labor figures were convinced Palaszczuk should step aside before October to give her successor time to make the role their own, but there was no active challenge to her leadership.

Palaszczuk went on leave on Saturday for a holiday overseas, with a return date of September 11. Her deputy, Steven Miles, would be acting premier while she was away.

It was left to Energy Minister Mick de Brenni, the only member of the Palaszczuk government to front media on Saturday, to publicly back his leader after repeated questioning on the Labor leadership.

Asked if there should be term limits such as in the United States, where presidents can only serve eight years – the same length as Palaszczuk’s premiership – de Brenni dismissed suggestions she may have become complacent.

“I don’t think there should be term limits and I can guarantee you this there is nothing complacent about Premier Anastasia Palaszczuk,” he said.

“I see her every day dedicated to delivering more and better outcomes for Queenslanders.”

De Brenni, from Labor’s dominant Left faction, insisted there would be no change before the “only poll that matters” on October 26 next year.

“There won’t be a change of leadership in our party, we’re going to the election with the team that we’ve got and speculation about that is just a distraction from what we ought to be doing,” he said.

Palaszczuk is a member of Labor’s Right faction. Potential leadership contenders included Miles and Health Minister Shannon Fentiman of the Left, and Treasurer Cameron Dick from the Right.

Under party rules adopted in 2013, Queensland Labor parliamentary leaders would be decided evenly by three voting blocs – the caucus, members of affiliated unions and rank-and-file party members.

However, there has not been a contested Labor leadership ballot since 1982, when Keith Wright, who would later be convicted of child rape, defeated Ed Casey. Every party leader in the four decades since has been elected unopposed.

When asked whether he anticipated facing Palaszczuk at next year’s election, Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said: “That’s a matter for the Labor Party.”

Should Palaszczuk remain leader, she would overtake Peter Beattie as Labor’s longest-serving premier since William Smith (1932-1942) next May.