Cameron Atfield (Brisbane Times, 22.10.15) considers the positive response by Premier Palaszczuk to the change of federal leadership, and includes an interview with political scientist Paul Williams and federal ALP member Graham Perrett.
‘Dr Williams said some of Ms Palaszczuk’s federal Labor Party colleagues would be uncomfortable with the Premier’s language.
‘”They wouldn’t like it and, given their federal Labor colleagues sit under the same banner as their state Labor colleagues, there will be some tensions over coffee and beer as they talk about this,” he said.
‘”But it’s not only smart for Palaszczuk to do this, it’s probably her only choice because, quite simply, Turnbull’s in a honeymoon and it’s a very unusual honeymoon in that we can expect it to be deep and we can expect it to be long.”
‘One of the Queensland MPs most at risk of a swing towards the Turnbull government was Graham Perrett, who held the seat of Moreton by just 1.55 per cent – the state’s second most marginal Labor seat.
‘”(Ms Palaszczuk)’s pragmatic and sees opportunities for Queensland,” Mr Perrett told Fairfax Media.
‘”I know she’ll be working hard for Labor (in the federal election campaign), but when you consider the former prime minister neglected so much, it’s a breath of fresh air to deal with the current prime minister.”‘