Steven Miles’ VERY inconvenient truth: Queensland’s next premier is seen posing for a photo with climate change icon Al Gore – as he prepares to lead coal-rich state
Queensland’s next premier, Steven Miles, was a climate campaigner before entering politics, but will now lead a state reliant on coal royalties to help those struggling with the cost of living.
The new leader of the Labor Party was photographed with former US Vice President Al Gore in 2007 after the release of his blockbuster documentary An Inconvenient Truth.
Dr Miles, who has a PhD on union recruitment at the University of Queensland, told Gore via X last year that “15 years ago you inspired me to do more to tackle climate change”.
The future Labor left-wing state MP has joined Gore’s Climate Reality Project, which campaigns for renewable energy.
“Thank you for all your advice and support since then,” he wrote on social media.
Dr Miles is still featured on the Climate Reality Project website as an environmental hero.
“In a deeply conservative state with more than 50 major coal mines, he is one of those ministers who has toed the line on climate change and continues to advocate for solutions within the Queensland Government,” it said.
The new leader of the Labor Party was photographed with former US Vice President Al Gore in 2007 after the release of his blockbuster documentary An Inconvenient Truth.
Outgoing Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk appointed Dr Miles as Minister for Environment and Heritage in February 2015 when Labor returned to power with responsibility for national parks and the Great Barrier Reef.
At the time, he was the newly elected MP for Mount Cootta in Brisbane’s inner west, winning the Labor Party seat in the primary with just 32.6 per cent of the vote, with the Greens favoring 22.2 per cent of the vote.
Dr Miles declined to contest the newly created seat of Maivara in 2017, which the Greens won after his old Mt Coot-tha seat was abolished and merged with Induroopilly, which was then held by the Liberal National Party.
Instead, he became the new member for Murrumba in Brisbane’s north, later replacing Jackie Trad as deputy premier in May 2020 after she lost her South Brisbane seat to the Greens and her prospect of becoming the state’s next leader.
Dr. Miles will lead a state that has delivered a record $12 billion budget surplus in 2022-23, of which $10.5 billion will come from increased coal and oil royalties.
Treasurer Cameron Dick, who will become the Right faction’s new deputy prime minister from Friday, blames “progressive coal royalties” for the record budget surplus and rising cost of living.
“This is the largest budget surplus ever recorded by any state or territory government,” he told parliament in June.
“We can implement our state’s largest cost-of-living program, our state’s largest construction program and reduce debt for one simple reason: progressive coal royalties.”
Mr. Dick also boasted that he could fund $500 worth of energy rebates, $250 of which came from the federal government.
“Today, for all Queenslanders struggling with the cost of living, I have a simple message. Help is on the way,” he said.
Ironically, the State Government is using coal royalty revenue to fund its Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan to deliver 22 gigawatts – or 22 billion watts – of new wind and solar projects with “grid-grid batteries” and hydroelectric power by 2035.
The future left-wing Labor MP said: “Thank you for all your advice and support since then.”
Dr Miles, in a social media post, told his followers that Gore, an American Democrat, was proud of him.
“I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved in Queensland and our Energy and Jobs Plan,” he said.
“Here’s a photo of us both looking much younger to celebrate.”
Queensland’s Climate Action Plan aims to have 80 per cent of its population powered by renewable energy by 2035 and net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Queensland’s Climate Transition Bill 2023 proposes to ban “all new coal, oil and gas permitting, ending fossil fuel exports by the end of 2030”.
State-owned coal-fired power plants will be turned into “clean energy hubs.”
The move away from coal acknowledges an inconvenient truth about coal royalties.
In 2021-22, the Queensland Government received $8.4 billion in royalties from coal and oil, including liquefied natural gas.
This amounted to about 30 percent of the state’s total tax and royalty revenue.
Fossil fuel royalties increased to an estimated $17.6 billion in 2022-23 thanks to strong coal prices.
Even as coal prices fell, the state expected to receive more than $5 billion in annual fossil fuel royalties over the next four years.