David Crisafulli ‘hungry’ for Queensland’s top job as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk dips in polls

“Overwhelmingly, people think the government is heading in the wrong direction. They can’t hide from their record, they own all of it.

“What we have to do now is show the solutions and show we are a united political force.”

Drag on primary vote

The prospect of an LNP government in the October 2024 election is gaining momentum, with polling commissioned by The Australian Financial Review and conducted by Freshwater Strategy this week revealing Mr Crisafulli was on track to become the next premier.

The poll of 1600 people last week showed the LNP was leading Labor 52 to 48 per cent on a two-party preferred basis. This would deliver an LNP majority government if an election were held today.

For the first time, Mr Crisafulli pipped Ms Palaszczuk as preferred premier, 45 per cent to 44 per cent.

The poll also showed Ms Palaszczuk was now a drag on Labor’s primary vote, which had slipped to 34 per cent while the LNP climbed to 40 per cent. This has mirrored other polls this year showing support for Labor, which has been in power for 29 of the past 34 years, is fading.

Since he became leader after the 2020 election loss, Mr Crisafulli has been criss-crossing the state holding forums and town hall meetings.

The 44-year-old, who is married with two children, is a renowned fitness fanatic who hits the gym or goes for runs when travelling the state. He is a North Queensland Cowboys rugby league fan and a big foodie.

Getting more moderate

Mr Crisafulli is a self-described “centrist” who believes his time in regional Queensland has shaped his values and thirst for hard work.

He recently said he was getting more moderate in his views as he got older, but he is opposed to the Voice to parliament.

While no-one can doubt his enthusiasm, especially since Queensland has moved from three- to four-year terms in line with other states, he is still trying to get the attention of voters.

The AFR/Freshwater Strategy poll showed 39 per cent of voters had never heard of Mr Crisafulli, even though he was a minister in the Newman LNP government between 2012 and 2015.

This compares with 3 per cent for Ms Palaszczuk, who has won three consecutive elections (2015, 2017 and 2020).

While Mr Crisafulli was loath to talk about specific polls, he is clearly buoyed by the long-term trends that showed Queenslanders were growing tired of the Labor government which has been in power since 2015.

There are now 47 per cent who have an unfavourable view of Ms Palaszczuk, compared with 39 per cent for the LNP leader.

Mr Crisafulli, formerly a television journalist in Townsville, brushed off the low voter recognition, saying it was hard to get a message across in a fragmented media market.

“Nothing changes for me. I’ve got a good work ethic. I’m passionate about what I want to bring to Queensland for Queenslanders. But this is not about me,” he said.

He said Ms Palaszczuk was a “formidable politician” and the LNP was still the underdog for the next election.

Labor has targeted Mr Crisafulli’s role in the Newman government, where he was local government minister, and raised the spectre of asset sales to pay down Queensland’s spiralling debt.

The privatisation plan was so unpopular Mr Newman not only lost office, but also lost his seat. As did Mr Crisafulli, who moved to a Gold Coast seat before re-entering state parliament in 2017.

He gave the idea of privatisation in a future LNP government short shrift.

“Queenslanders have spoken overwhelmingly on that,” he said.