Rob Pyne, Robbie Katter and Shane Knuth pledge to back the opposition if Annastacia Palaszczuk calls an election midway through her term. Photo: Amy Remeikis
Queensland's powerful crossbench, which holds the power to make or break legislation, has issued their own warning to the Palaszczuk Government - attempt to head to an early election and Lawrence Springborg will be Premier.
Annastacia Palaszczuk responded to Rob Pyne's defection from the Labor Party to the crossbench, which weakened her government's hold on power by dropping its numbers in the House to 42, equal to the Opposition, by threatening an early election if she could not get her jobs legislation through.
But on Monday Mr Pyne announced he had signed an agreement with Robbie Katter and Shane Knuth to throw their support behind the LNP if Ms Palaszczuk attempted to call an early poll.
A copy of the agreement will be sent to Queensland Governor Paul de Jersey.
Mr Pyne, who pledged his continuing support for Ms Palaszczuk as Premier when he resigned from the Labor Party, said he "hoped that would not happen" but in the interest of voters he would give his support to Mr Springborg to prevent an early election.
"If the Premier doesn't want to govern and that is the only option, that would be the only alternative," he said.
"I am reluctant to say the words, but that would be the outcome if the premier decided she didn't want to govern."
Under convention, Ms Palaszczuk would need to serve at least half a term before she could consider a trip to Government House, which would bring the earliest election date she could call without a valid reason to August.
Any time before that, the Governor would have to investigate whether the Opposition could form government.
This agreement, in that case, gives Mr Springborg the numbers.
Mr Springborg had previously ruled out accepting government under those circumstances.
Mr Katter wasn't so sure.
"All I'd say is people, when given the opportunity to govern Queensland, will make some decisions that perhaps you wouldn't expect," he said.
On Monday, following the crossbench announcement, Mr Katter would only say that the offer was the result of the Premier's threat.
"Threatening to call a snap poll leads to all sorts of wild speculation," he said.
"The LNP does not believe there will be an early election. If Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk cannot govern, she needs to explain this decision to Nicklin MP Peter Wellington."
Mr Katter said the crossbench was not holding the government to ransom, but was deliberately sending "a very clear message that we just want the government to do their job".
"And the Premier to lead and to engage and to consult with crossbenchers," he said.
"It is not a big ask, it has been done plenty of times before and it is really a cop out, saying 'I'm going to throw teddy in the dirt and run to the polls', when they have a lot of their agenda in.
"We're happy to work with the government for as long as they were consultative."
The three MPs would not say who came up with the idea, only that it was a "collaborative" decision.
But the agreement to keep the 55th Parliament running for as long as possible if Ms Palaszczuk follows through on her repeated threat from last week, does not extend to voting as a bloc.
Mr Pyne said there were issues such as vegetation management that would see him vote differently to the Katter Party, but all three and fellow Labor-turned-independent MP Billy Gordon, had agreed to caucus together on issues that impact on north Queensland.
"We'll obviously have differences, but we will often agree on issues concerning far North Queensland," Mr Pyne said.
"Far north Queensland has been left out of this equation for too long and I am very happy to be working with these two gentlemen to get better outcomes for the far north.
"We are going to disagree on a whole range of issues. And that is healthy."
With Mr Pyne's defection, the crossbench became the most powerful MPs in the Parliament, with both Labor and the LNP needing the vote of at least two, and the casting vote of Mr Wellington, to ensure the success of any bills.
Parliament resumes on Tuesday.
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