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The Queensland Premier and his LNP Opposition leader have ventured North this week, as day one of the 2024 State Election Campaign began yesterday.
While Premier Steven Miles kicked off in Townsville, LNP Leader David Crisafulli was hitting the pothole-riddled streets of Bundaberg, the state’s most marginal seat.
While the LNP are playing it safe and banking on a guaranteed Bradbury, the Labor leader is rolling out bold election promises and policies that suggests at least part of him thinks he’s still in this fight.
And by even bothering to head North to visit his most troublesome seats, it seems that Miles and his Government refuse to believe that Queensland voters are dictated by the less-than-inspiring polls numbers and media smear campaigns his government has been subject to since taking he took over from Palaszczuk.
But still, Miles must leaves the door open for a power-sharing scenario. In the event of a hung Queensland Parliament.
The Premier has this week openly declared that he is not opposed to negotiating with minor parties and crossbenchers for support if he fails to win enough seats to govern in his own right on October 26, but will not be cutting any deals before that date.
But it won’t be the Greens, as their momentum has been neutralised by the Premier’s attempts to tackle the cost-of-living crisis with 50 cent fares and renters rights.
The real negotiations will instead be held with Federal MP Bob Katter, whose son Robbie is the state leader for a collection of maverick rural MPs who hate the LNP enough to not join them.
With 4 seats, and the potential for a couple more coming along this election, Katter’s Australian Party has the numbers to move the dial in a hung parliament.
Miles must now gag the left-wing of his party, and order all factions of Labor to fall in line. Because the possibility of a Katter-Labor Alliance is a very real possibility.
The Katters in coalition with Labor will prove to be a far more powerful regional voice than the National Party has ever been underneath the glass ceiling of those Pentecostal city boys who run the Liberals.
All juvenile justice centres will be replaced by Outback jackaroo programs. A complete removal of all nanny-state legislation around hunting, camping and pubs. Agrarian socialism will thrive. Robbie Katter as Deputy Premier.
