Annastacia Palaszczuk became a national figure during the COVID pandemic, reaching a level of recognition not experienced by many other premiers.
She was a popular yet polarising leader who took a hardline stance on closing Queensland's borders — and she didn't shy away from fights with the Morrison government.
By her side during the daily COVID updates was her deputy and health minister Steven Miles, who became known as the Palaszczuk government's attack dog.
He stepped back from the role in the aftermath of the pandemic, but continued to be the face of the state's controversial $220 million quarantine facility at Wellcamp, near Toowoomba.
More recently, the 46-year-old was tasked with overseeing the state's Olympic venues, including the contentious decision to demolish and rebuild the Gabba stadium, the cost of which has blown out to $2.7 billion.
Keen to make his mark
Now he's the new Queensland premier, taking over yesterday after Ms Palaszczuk stepped down as the longest serving female premier in Australia.
Ms Palaszczuk's strengths were her political instincts and her ability to connect with Queenslanders, which helped her to three state election wins, increasing Labor's margins each time.
But in the past year, her popularity has waned and her government was widely criticised for being slow to act on critical issues such as health, housing and youth crime.
Mr Miles has wasted no time trying to put his stamp on the government and signal a clear difference between him and his predecessor.
In his first press conference as premier, he spoke about his family and said he wants to lead a government that "listens".
"I'm a suburban Queensland dad with three kids, and so many Queenslanders are like me," he said.
"I want to demonstrate to them that I understand what concerns them in their day-to-day lives and how government can help them."
An extensive cabinet reshuffle is underway. Five new faces will enter the ministry and three current ministers are being relegated to the backbench.
Olympics overhaul
Frustrations over the state government's handling of major Olympic venues reached fever pitch in recent weeks. It's clear Mr Miles is trying to soothe growing tensions.
He announced an infrastructure delivery authority will be set up to oversee the venues for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.
That idea had previously been rejected by the Palaszczuk government, despite being in the original Brisbane 2032 bid.
All major venues for the games will be reviewed within 60 days. Significantly, Mr Miles won't be sworn in as Olympics Minister — Ms Palaszczuk had copped a lot of flak after she took on the portfolio.
"I want to send a signal to Queenslanders that my approach as premier, my focus as premier is 100 per cent on being the premier," he said.
He also acknowledged the Olympics had "become divisive" and wanted to fix it.
Environment, housing and youth crime a focus
Mr Miles, a former environment minister, vowed to set a more ambitious climate target.
Queensland had one of the least ambitious emission reduction targets in the nation. The Miles government has pledged to reduce emissions by 75 per cent by 2035.
Mr Miles also signalled plans to unlock more housing in south-east Queensland and committed to looking at a new police helicopter for Townsville to tackle youth crime which he said is "unacceptably high".
Mr Miles was elected to Queensland parliament in 2015 in the seat of Mount Coot-tha then, when the electorate was dissolved, he was parachuted into the seat of Murrumba in 2017.
He's the leader of the left faction and backed by Labor powerbroker Gary Bullock, who heads the United Workers Union.
In a bid to fight off criticism that unions played a major role in the formation of Queensland's new leadership team, Mr Miles is promising a "leaders forum" — bringing business, industry, community and unions together for discussions.
He was at pains yesterday to highlight his working class roots. His dad was a fitter at the Golden Circle cannery and his mum was a workplace health and safety inspector.
He says he wants to be a premier who unites the city and bush, joking he may celebrate being sworn in with "a steak at the Mango Hill Tavern".
He clearly wants to do it his way. But with a state election just 10 months away, Steven Miles will need to act decisively to avoid facing the final curtain.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiZmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIzLTEyLTE2L3FsZC1wb2xpdGljcy1zdGV2ZW4tbWlsZXMtZG9pbmctaXQtaGlzLXdheS1hcy1wcmVtaWVyLzEwMzIzNDY0NtIBKGh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMDMyMzQ2NDY?oc=5
2023-12-15 21:10:27Z
CBMiZmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIzLTEyLTE2L3FsZC1wb2xpdGljcy1zdGV2ZW4tbWlsZXMtZG9pbmctaXQtaGlzLXdheS1hcy1wcmVtaWVyLzEwMzIzNDY0NtIBKGh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMDMyMzQ2NDY
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