Leadership positions


Leader of the Labor Party in Queensland
In office 28 March 2012 – 15 December 2023
Deputy	Tim Mulherin Jackie Trad Steven Miles
Preceded by	Anna Bligh
Succeeded by	Steven Miles
Leader of the Opposition in Queensland
In office 28 March 2012 – 14 February 2015
Premier	Campbell Newman
Deputy	Tim Mulherin
Preceded by	Jeff Seeney
Succeeded by	Lawrence Springborg

Cabinet positions

Minister for Transport
In office 21 February 2011 – 26 March 2012
Premier	Anna Bligh
Preceded by	Rachel Nolan
Succeeded by	Scott Emerson
Minister for Multicultural Affairs
In office 26 March 2009 – 26 March 2012
Premier	Anna Bligh
Preceded by	Lindy Nelson-Carr
Succeeded by	Jack Dempsey
Minister for Disability Services
In office 26 March 2009 – 21 February 2011
Premier	Anna Bligh
Preceded by	Lindy Nelson-Carr
Succeeded by	Curtis Pitt

Personal details

Born

25 July 1969 (age 55)
Durack, Queensland, Australia

Political party

Labor

Spouses

George Megalogenis

(m. 1996; div. 1998)
Simon Every

(m. 2004; div. 2009)

Domestic partners

Shaun Drabsch (2015–2018)
Reza Adib (since 2021)

Parents

Henry Palaszczuk (father)
Lorelle Palaszczuk (mother)

Education

Jamboree Heights State School
St Mary's College

Alma mater

Occupation

Policy adviser
Politician

Cabinet

Palaszczuk Ministry

Signature

Annastacia Palaszczuk (born 25 July 1969) is an Australian politician. She was the 39th Premier of Queensland from 2015 to 2023. A Premier is the leader of a state government in Australia. She was also the leader of the Labor Party in Queensland from 2012 until she stepped down.

Palaszczuk was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the area of Inala from 2006 to 2023. She is one of the longest-serving Premiers in Queensland's history. She was also the first woman to become Premier after her party was in opposition. Her first team of government ministers was the first in Australia to have more women than men.

Before becoming a politician, Palaszczuk worked as a political adviser. She took over the seat of Inala from her father, Henry Palaszczuk. She held several important jobs in the Queensland government from 2009 to 2012. After her party lost many seats in the 2012 election, she became the Leader of the Opposition.

In 2015, Palaszczuk led the Labor Party to win the election, even though many thought it was impossible. This made her the first woman in Australian history to become a state Premier from opposition. She won two more elections in 2017 and 2020, becoming the first Australian female Premier to win three terms. She announced her retirement in December 2023.

Early Life and Education

Annastacia Palaszczuk grew up in Durack, a suburb of Brisbane. Her father, Henry Palaszczuk, was a state politician. Her mother, Lorelle, is from Australia.

She went to St Mary's College in Ipswich. She studied at the University of Queensland, where she earned degrees in Arts and Law. She also studied at the London School of Economics and the Australian National University.

Starting Her Political Journey

Before becoming an elected politician, Annastacia Palaszczuk worked as an adviser for several government ministers. She helped them with their policies and plans.

In 2006, her father decided to retire from politics. Annastacia then decided to run for his seat in the Queensland Parliament. She won the election for the area of Inala, which was a very safe seat for the Labor Party.

After being elected, she was given important roles in the government. In 2008, she became a Parliamentary Secretary. In 2009, she was made the Minister for Disability Services and Multicultural Affairs. Later, in 2011, she became the Minister for Transport and Multicultural Affairs.

Leading the Opposition

In the 2012 election, the Labor government lost many seats. Annastacia Palaszczuk was one of only a few Labor members who kept their seats. After the election, the Premier, Anna Bligh, resigned.

Annastacia Palaszczuk was then chosen as the new leader of the Labor Party in Queensland. This made her the Leader of the Opposition. Her job was to challenge the new government and rebuild her party. She said that the party needed to focus on its basic ideas, like workers' rights and protecting the environment.

She also apologized to Queenslanders for a past decision by the Labor government to sell state assets, which had upset many people. She explained that the decision was made to save jobs but admitted it was not communicated well.

Premier of Queensland

Annastacia Palaszczuk made history as the first Premier of Queensland with Polish family background.

First Term: 2015–2017

Winning the 2015 Election

When Annastacia Palaszczuk was the Leader of the Opposition, she worked hard to gain support for the Labor Party. Most people thought it would be very difficult for Labor to win the 2015 state election, as they had only a few seats in Parliament.

However, in a surprising result, Labor won many more seats. They were very close to forming a majority government. The final results showed Labor had 44 seats and the Liberal National Party (LNP) had 42. The support of an independent politician, Peter Wellington, helped Labor reach 45 seats, giving them a small majority.

On 14 February 2015, Annastacia Palaszczuk was sworn in as the Premier of Queensland. This was a big moment for Queensland politics, as it was only the seventh time the government had changed since 1915.

Focus on Public Services

During her election campaign in 2015, Palaszczuk promised to support public servants and prevent job cuts in government services.

Her government's budgets generally increased funding for important areas like health and education. The Palaszczuk government also focused on creating more jobs in the public service. Over her first two terms, the number of public service workers grew significantly.

Changes to Elections

In 2016, the government made some changes to how elections work in Queensland. These changes included:

Adding four more seats to the Parliament, increasing the total from 89 to 93.
Changing the voting system to full-preferential voting, where voters must number every box on their ballot paper.
Moving from unfixed three-year terms to fixed four-year terms for the state government.

Second Term: 2017–2020

Winning the 2017 Election

Annastacia Palaszczuk led the Labor Party into the 2017 Queensland state election, hoping to win a second term. It was a close election, and the final result was not known for almost two weeks.

Eventually, it was confirmed that Labor had won enough seats (48 out of 93) to form a majority government on their own. This was a net gain of four seats for Labor.

Protecting the Environment

Palaszczuk's government introduced several environmental policies. These included:

A ban on single-use plastic bags.
A recycling scheme where people could get money back for returning containers.
New laws to restrict land clearing, as Queensland had one of the highest rates of deforestation in the country.

The government also launched a plan to have 50% of Queensland's energy come from renewable sources by 2030. Their goal was to achieve carbon neutrality (meaning no net release of carbon dioxide) by 2050.

Supporting LGBT Rights

The Queensland Parliament made an official apology in 2017 to people who were charged with homosexual offences when they were illegal. Palaszczuk supported same-sex marriage and encouraged people to vote 'yes' in the national survey on the issue.

In 2020, her government passed a law to ban gay conversion therapy. This law made it illegal for health professionals to try and change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity, with serious penalties for those who broke it.

The Carmichael Coal Mine

Palaszczuk's government faced discussions about the Carmichael coal mine. This mine has been a topic of debate due to its potential environmental effects. Many environmental groups created the "Stop Adani" campaign to oppose the mine.

Despite the debates, Palaszczuk's government approved some aspects of the mine. In 2020, a deal was made for the mining company to delay some royalty payments, but all taxes would still be paid with interest.

Managing the COVID-19 Pandemic

Queensland recorded its first case of COVID-19 in January 2020. Annastacia Palaszczuk quickly declared a public health emergency.

Her government introduced lockdown measures and closed state borders in March. Schools and universities were shut, and non-essential services were temporarily stopped. As the number of cases decreased, restrictions were gradually eased.

The state border closures were a big topic of discussion. While some criticized them, Palaszczuk's approval ratings among Queensland voters remained high. She also announced a temporary wage freeze for public servants, saying it was needed for future job security.

Third Term: 2020–2023

Winning the 2020 Election

Annastacia Palaszczuk led the Labor Party into the 2020 Queensland state election. She was very popular among voters, with high approval ratings.

The Labor Party won the election, gaining more seats and securing 52 out of 93 seats in Parliament. This was a strong victory for Palaszczuk and her government.

Youth Justice Laws

In 2021, Palaszczuk announced new measures to address youth crime. These included:

Giving police more powers.
Stricter laws against dangerous driving.
Making it harder for young people accused of certain crimes to get bail.
Using GPS ankle monitors for some offenders.

In 2021, a law was passed allowing police to search people without needing a strong reason, mainly to reduce knife carrying among young people. In 2022, more measures were announced, such as building new youth detention centers and increasing penalties for certain offenses.

Renewable Energy Plan

In 2022, Palaszczuk's government introduced a large, ten-year plan for clean energy. This plan aims to use solar and wind power, along with hydro storage technology, to greatly increase Queensland's renewable energy supply.

The goal is for 80% of Queensland's power to come from renewable sources by 2035. The plan also includes building a very large hydro storage facility near Mackay.

Retirement from Politics

On 10 December 2023, Annastacia Palaszczuk announced that she would be retiring from politics. She stepped down as Premier on 15 December. Her Deputy, Steven Miles, took over as the new leader of the Labor Party and Premier. She left Parliament at the end of December.

Personal Life

Annastacia Palaszczuk was married to journalist George Megalogenis and later to Simon Every. She was also in a relationship with Shaun Drabsch, an infrastructure adviser.

Since 2021, she has been in a relationship with Dr Reza Adib, a surgeon. In August 2024, she was appointed to the board of Australia Post, which is Australia's postal service.

Images for kids

Annastacia Palaszczuk's signature

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