Extensive research by this column has finally revealed the source of the enormous amount of mainstream media focus over the past two weeks plus on Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s leadership.

It’s taken the bitter, washed-up old hacks who compile MGH endless hours to finally nail the origins of such fierce leadership speculation and the answer won’t surprise: it’s Opposition Leader David Crisafulli, his deputy Jarrod Bleijie and their mainstream mediocre supporters including The Courier-Mail and The Sunday Mail, radio shockjocks and the TV news networks.

If you doubt this, let’s roll back the tape to just Monday alone. Channel 9’s Peter Fegan on the Today show painted a near-perfect picture of the intense leadership speculation that would confront Palaszczuk as she jetted back into Oz after a two-week holiday.

This seething, ever-increasing, rejection of her leadership by senior party people was amplified during promos for Nine News Brisbane’s 4pm and 6pm news bulletins later that day. Believe whoever was writing the promos for the main bulletin and aired during Millionaire Hot Seat and you’d be 100 per cent convinced that the hotbed of discontent with Palaszczuk meant she’s be lucky to still be in the job by midday on Tuesday.

And then what happened?

The segment started promisingly enough with the Premier returning to “face a grilling about her leadership” but then turned into a rather bland yarn about Palaszczuk declaring she would lead Labor to the polls in October 2024.

State political editor Tim Arvier (pictured at top) reported that Palaszczuk was adamant she was going nowhere. She made sure “those in her party got the message” while also declaring “not one MP has raised concerns with her”.

Well, good luck with that, Polish Princess, as we all moved to the front of our chairs in The Bug’s MGH annex to watch Arvier strike back brilliantly with confirmation that dissatisfaction with her, if you believe the straplines run on MSM news bulletins – has surely reached ministerial level and the entire party is being whiteanted by disloyalty by senior folk the Premier thought she could trust.

What senior Cabinet ministers will Arvier reference, albeit indirectly if need be. Will the Premier leave the media call immediately and be driven out to Fernberg in Paddington to tender her resignation?

Some of our MGH compilers reckon they saw Palaszczuk blanch as Arvier hit her with: “I have spoken to MPs who say it’s hard to have a frank conversation with you”.

The Premier somehow recovered and muttered something about talking to backbenchers all the time. Arvier hit her with this killer follow-up: “Why would they say that if it’s not true?”

Kaboom! Her leadership in tatters. Tim, clear away space on your mantelpiece for a much-deserved Walkley!

It took someone of Arvier’s skillset and experience to make it perfectly clear that inside a political party that’s been in power for many years, there are egotistical backbenchers always trying to get into the Premier’s ear and tell her how good they are and to ask of their chances of a ministerial post, yet aren’t happy their much-deserved rise through the ranks isn’t happening as quickly as they deserve!

Arvier finished off his contribution by quoting one Labor member who described Palaszczuk’s address to the party room later on Monday as being like that scene from The Wolf of Wall Street where Leonardo DiCaprio’s character declares he’s not leaving and “the show goes on”, to cheers from the crowd. Another member present said that might have been a little bit of an exaggeration but the Premier had said all the right things and had accepted her role in a poor couple of weeks and the need to communicate better.

Good Lord! A party room cheering? Maybe LNP and mainstream media yarns about a party divided by leadership tensions are an almighty beatup after all?

Palaszczuk’s leadership will undoubtedly come under pressure if polls continue to show her party slipping in support but the MGH will stick with its view that right at this moment, the likes of Channel 9 News and the LNP’s Bowen Hills branch are putting an almighty eggbeater through any current level of internal party discontent, and that’s exactly how Nine Entertainment Co. chair Peter Costello and a certain, flaccid-arsed, money-hungry, ethically challenged, nonagenarian Septic Tank want it to be.

Want to be alerted immediately a new blog hits Australia’s longest running and most offensive satire site? Simply click on the Follow sign or the link below to be emailed new yarns the moment they are uploaded! The very second we go far too far – and trust us we will – you can then quickly unfollow via the three dots!

Follow The Bug Online on WordPress.com