STEWART CAN BE A VOICE FOR THE NORTH
TOWNSVILLE MP Scott Stewart is about to be sworn in as Townsville’s newest Minister. He will be the only North Queensland Minister in the new-look state government after the retirement of Coralee O’rourke and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk overlooking other North Queensland MPS Aaron Harper and Les Walker.
In a strange move yesterday, Ms Palaszczuk did not announce what portfolio Mr Stewart would take, instead waiting until this afternoon to announce the roles.
Speculation is rife that the former school principal could be the new Education Minister although many say the role would be too senior for a first-time minister.
That said, Ms Palaszczuk obviously rates Mr Stewart.
A lot of time and money was spent by the party shoring up his campaign during the election.
With LNP candidate John Hathaway working hard on the hustings Labor insiders were worried Mr Stewart may have been a casualty of the opposition’s “tough on crime” policy. That didn’t turn out to be true. Mr Stewart won his marginal seat with an increased majority and now he has been rewarded for his dedication and loyalty to the Premier.
He was yesterday named as one of three new ministers, including Nudgee MP Leanne Linard and Gaven MP Meaghan Scanlon.
If education isn’t the role given to Mr Stewart he could also be in line for Natural Resources and Mines or the Jobs and Training portfolios.
Yesterday Mr Stewart said he would be excited by whatever role he is given.
“The Premier has had this knack for putting me into jobs that I just absolutely love,” Mr Stewart said.
“(Now it is about) making sure we get that strong voice for North Queensland.”
Mr Stewart hit the nail on the head with the last quote.
North Queensland needs a strong voice in southeast Queensland and Labor needs to reward the loyalty of North Queenslanders and honour every promise given during the election campaign.
North Queensland, if managed properly, has the ability to lift the state and the country out of the COVID-19 recession. But it won’t happen unless we have a very loud voice in Brisbane.