“It might be news to Peter Dutton,or some people,but the Labor Party was formed by the Australian trade union movement,” premier-to-be Steven Miles said on Wednesday.Credit:Louise Kennerley
Briefly duelling pitches from the dominant Left faction,headed by Miles,meant extensive talks to shore up support among MPs,with union loyalties and the minority Right and smaller-still Old Guard factions key to determinewho had majority support.
Such group loyalties are commonamong the Labor Party,thefederal Liberal Party and LNP,and Greens.
After meetings of MPs and unions late into Monday night before Fentiman’s withdrawal,the close relationship of Miles and United Workers Union boss Gary Bullock – whose aligned MPs form the largest Left grouping – has come into focus.
Anonymous Labor MPs have been quoted questioning the influence of Bullock – whose support helped Palaszczuk’s seven-MP opposition regain government in 2015 – with union and Labor figures also uneasy.
But the sharpest public criticism has come from the LNP.
Both the state opposition and their Queensland-based federal counterparts,including Liberal leader Peter Dutton,have sought to portray the handover of power outside an election asan unsavoury action by“faceless union leaders”.