Annastacia Palaszczuk: The REAL reason why Queensland Premier stepped down: Details about ‘frank’ talks with union boss emerge before her tearful resignation are revealed
Annastacia Palaszczuk’s sudden resignation comes after a tense conversation with an influential trade union leader and Labor Party leader, it has been revealed.
The Queensland Premier was asked by powerbroker and union leader Gary Bullock and state ALP president John Battams to discuss her future in a “candid” conversation just days before her shock announcement.
Mr Bullock, also known as “Blocker”, noted Ms Palaszczuk was no longer the right person to lead the state at last week’s meeting. Australian reported.
Just weeks ago he was a staunch supporter of Ms Palaszczuk along with Mr Battams.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (pictured) made a tearful announcement on Sunday that she was stepping down from the top job.
Politician and union leader Gary Bullock (pictured) called on Ms Palaszczuk to consider her position as prime minister in a “frank” conversation.
Ms Palaszczuk was also warned that union leaders planned to raise concerns with her at their quarterly meeting with cabinet ministers this week.
The third-term prime minister announced the surprise move through tears on Sunday, saying “the time has come.”
“I gave it my all and ran the marathon,” she said. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while and now is the right time, time for an update.”
Ms Palaszczuk noted her successor would be Stephen Miles’ deputy, although Health Minister Shannon Fentiman and Treasurer Cameron Dick are also vying for the top job.
In dismal Labor polling ahead of next year’s election, many pundits and her opponents said dissatisfaction with her nine-year tenure as prime minister was growing.
A Redbridge poll in August showed Labor heading for the shootout, with the LNP leading by 55 to 45 per cent with two party preferences.
Such dismal results even led former minister in the Beattie and Bligh Labor governments and influential politician Robert Schwarten to call on current MPs to embrace a “new model” last week.
Ms Palaszczuk came under fire after attending several red carpet events and an overseas holiday with her surgeon boyfriend Dr Reza Adib – earning her the nickname “part-time prime minister” due to her hectic life.
Ms Palaszczuk and her partner Reza Adib’s appearances at a number of high-profile public events have led to accusations that she is more interested in parties than politics.
ALP Queensland president John Battams (pictured) was a staunch supporter of Ms Palaszczuk along with Mr Bullock until a few weeks ago.
LNP leader David Crisafulli said bitter infighting had broken out within Labor.
“What’s really worrying is that the government is fighting itself, not for Queenslanders. And this is becoming more and more obvious,” he said.
LNP deputy leader Jarrod Bleijie even said information had been leaked to him suggesting Queensland LNP deputy leader Steven Miles and Health Minister Shannon Fentiman were preparing to oust Ms Palaszczuk.
“You see it in parliament, Labor MPs are talking to us, they’ve been leaking information against the prime minister for 12 months now,” Mr Bleijie told Sky News.
“It has definitely reached this stage and we have Labor cuts, Labor chaos and Labour’s Christmas coup. This is the reality.”
A Nine Newspapers poll this week showed Ms Palaszczuk’s personal popularity had fallen further compared to LNP leader David Crisafulli.
That poll showed Ms Crisafulli now leads Ms Palaszczuk as the preferred premier by 39 per cent to 34 per cent.
Another poll carried out by The Courier Mail in October showed Ms Palaszczuk’s third-term government was on course for a crushing defeat, with 47 per cent of respondents agreeing the state was “heading in the wrong direction”.
This response increased by 20 percentage points from the October 2020 state election.
Ms Palaszczuk’s commitment to her job has also become an issue, with some saying she “quit” the role this year.
In June she was forced to vehemently deny claims that she had become a “part-time prime minister” by spending too much time on red carpets with celebrities and her surgeon boyfriend Dr Reza Adib.
Insiders claimed MPs and senior civil servants were unhappy with her tendency to frequent glamorous social events.
Ms Palaszczuk was photographed with singer Elton John as she presented him with a street sign in his name in September 2017.
Ms Palaszczuk and Dr Reza Adib pictured at the 2022 Strabroke Handicap Race – one of many public appearances the couple have done together.
Ms Palaszczuk and Dr Adib on the 2022 Logies red carpet
A month later, she was photographed with actor Chris Hemsworth at the Australian premiere of Thor: Ragnarok in October.
Ms Palaszczuk then met Jason Momoa at the Aquaman premiere in October 2018.
In 2022 Ms Palaszczuk was seen at the Magic Millions Race Day event on January 15 and at the premiere of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis film on June 4.
She then competed in the Stradbroke Handicap Race on 11 June and the TV Week Logie Awards on 19 June – to name just a few.
During many walks, Mr Adib was seen hanging on her shoulder.
He accompanied the Prime Minister to the first meeting of the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane in May 2022, and the news sparked outrage and forced Ms Palaszczuk to issue an apology.
Even former Labor leader Peter Beattie called on her to launch a new agenda to prove she still wants to be prime minister.
Ms Palaszczuk also came under fire after taking several breaks, including a cruise and an overseas holiday.
In 2019, she went on a cruise holiday while the Black Summer bushfires devastated parts of Australia, including Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
She also began taking holidays abroad for the first time during her tenure as prime minister, taking a three-week trip abroad in January.
This was followed by another trip to Italy in August, which left her on holiday 12 days longer than in Parliament by the time she returned.
Ms Palaszczuk hit back with a defiant social media post following outrage over her trip to Europe where she was ambushed by the media in Naples.
‘I’m on vacation. Everyone has the right to leave,” she wrote on Facebook.
“I ask that the media respect my privacy. Stephen Miles is acting Prime Minister. I’ll be back on September 11th.”
In 2022, Ms Palaszczuk was seen at Magic Millions Race Day on January 15 and at the premiere of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis film on June 4.
In 2023, questions began to arise about Ms Palaszczuk’s commitment to her job as she took two long holidays abroad.
Acting Prime Minister Mr Miles even held a cabinet meeting without her in September, the first such meeting Ms Palaszczuk had missed in September. six years.
Ms Palaszczuk said she had “health problems” at the time.
Despite Ms Palaszczuk’s stunning electoral triumph in 2020, which reflected approval of her draconian border restrictions during Covid, making her the first woman to win three state elections in Australia, her shine has dimmed in her third term.
The scale of the state’s housing and cost of living crisis was highlighted this week by footage of a tent city sprawling along the Brisbane River in the central suburbs of South Brisbane.
Health care costs, especially for new emergency rooms, have soared, and the state’s hospitals have been plagued by tragic scandals, including the handling of a deadly fungal clot in a transplant unit and the death of an autistic man from hunger.
Ms Palaszczuk’s worship of attending the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics has long given way to recriminations over the costly Gabba redevelopment, which recently saw Brisbane’s Lord Mayor quit a planning forum.
Rampant youth crime remains a problem in many parts of Queensland and even led to a protest group marching on state parliament.
Because she resigned, Ms Palaszczuk will not receive the 11 per cent pay rise that she and 93 other state MPs will be given over the next two years.