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The former deputy premier of Queensland, Steven Miles, will be appointed to the top job on Friday (15 December) after his only competitor Health Minister Shannon Fentiman withdrew her candidacy for the role.
Mr Miles’ looming appointment followed Annastacia Palaszczuk’s announcement on Sunday (10 December) that she would resign from the role of Premier. She vacated the position a year out from what would have been her fourth state election.
Mr Miles was first elected into Queensland Parliament in 2015, when he took on the position of minister for the environment and great barrier reef. He subsequently became minister for health in 2017 and was in the role during the COVID-19 pandemic before being made deputy to Ms Palaszczuk in 2020.
In a speech on Tuesday (12 December), Mr Miles stated: “What I intend to demonstrate to Queenslanders between now and then [the state election] is just what kind of Premier I would be: absolutely focused on them, their safety, their cost of living, and the issues that are important to them.
“Queenslanders want and deserve a government that is responsive to the people – that listens, consults, acts with reason, has a positive plan for the future, and, above all, is respectful.”
After assuming the role of leader in waiting, Mr Miles stated that his priorities would be health, housing, cost of living, and the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic games.
His looming appointment as Premier of the Sunshine State came after Ms Fentiman withdrew her candidacy for the role, stating that it was “clear that a majority of Labor members of Parliament will support Steven Miles to be the next leader of the Labor Party.”
In a post on social media she added: “As a result, I will not be standing as a candidate for the Labor leadership when caucus meets on Friday.
“I want to congratulate Steven and offer my support in the work ahead. Steven is a longstanding friend and he will have my full support as Premier of Queensland.
“Now is the time for unity and Labor’s focus must turn to delivering for Queenslanders and retaining government at next year’s election.”
Mr Miles indicated that he did not intend to shift Ms Fentiman from the health portfolio and added: “We have been friends for a long time, we share a vision for Queensland, one where the government’s job is to build for the future.”
The current Treasurer for Queensland, Cameron Dick, has been revealed to be the next Deputy Premier in waiting along with continuing his role as Treasurer within the new cabinet.
[Related: Young Queenslanders still gunning for home ownership: RACQ Bank]
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