When Annastacia Palaszczuk says she is “absolutely determined” to lead Labor to another election in Queensland, no one has any doubt that she means it.
“I feel refreshed, I feel energised,” the Queensland premier said on Monday, returning from leave to address worsening polls and growing unrest among government MPs.
“I’m absolutely committed to this job; I’m committed to this state.”
Facing reporters alone in Brisbane after the government’s regular Monday cabinet meeting, Palaszczuk dug her heels in.
She defended her record as a political underdog. She teased at lines from an election stump speech. She took some thinly veiled swipes at her critics.
“I’ve been the underdog on many occasions. I’ve led this party from seven members … I’ve been termed accidental, I’ve been termed all these other terms over the years. But you know what? I’ve stood my ground.
“And I think that young women and young girls have a strong role model that says to them women and girls can be anything they want in this state.
“Politics needs good people, not selfish people, not ruthless people.”
Labor’s party rules in Queensland make it practically impossible for anyone to launch a leadership challenge against a sitting premier, and Palaszczuk’s comments seemed designed to make that harder still. Who wants to be the “ruthless” challenger to knife a female role model? Her comments were designed to put speculation to bed.
But Labor MPs agitating for change remain unconvinced, as polls show the government heading towards a comprehensive election loss.
The most recent, a RedBridge Group poll published at the weekend, showed Labor’s primary vote had dropped to 26% statewide. The government trails the LNP opposition 55-45 on a two-party basis.
Raw numbers rarely tell the real story in Queensland, where election swings in the city have often moved in the opposite direction to regional parts of the state.
The RedBridge poll divides the results into three amorphous regions – the south-east, central and north – and it shows Labor’s vote dropping everywhere.
The Liberal National party currently holds only four seats in greater Brisbane, yet is outpolling the government by almost 13 points in the city and surrounds. The Greens’ primary vote is hovering at 16% across the south-east, and is likely much higher in the inner-suburbs where several Labor seats are under threat.
“We are going backwards everywhere, and at the point where we need to start talking about sandbagging,” a Labor source said.
“The premier was always going to fight to stay on. But I don’t think this is the end of it.”
The most revealing comment by Palaszczuk at her press conference was an acknowledgment that she did not believe news reports about unrest within Labor were “made up”.
Guardian Australia has spoken with several MPs who say she should resign. The mood for change within the Labor caucus is clear and growing.
“My door is always open,” Palaszczuk said in response to concerns she was unapproachable.
In the next breath, she said “not one person” had come through her door to raise leadership concerns.
The irony was not lost on MPs agitating for change.
“When at least half the party thinks you should resign, but no one thinks they can bring it up with you, that should be a pretty clear sign things aren’t good.”
