‘Newman-era attack on workers’ should have gone to 2024 poll: Miles

Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗
Cite

Dennien, M., & Davis, W. (2026, October 15). ‘Newman-era attack on workers’ should have gone to 2024 poll: Miles. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/queensland/newman-era-attack-on-workers-should-have-gone-to-2024-poll-miles-20261015-p615yb.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-10-15 · by Matt Dennien, William Davis

Quick Summary

Steven Miles, the Opposition Leader, has accused the Crisafulli LNP government of misleading voters regarding its recent sweeping industrial relations law changes. Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie introduced a bill that expands his ability to terminate protected industrial action by workers, going beyond existing federal powers. The government accepted 75 out of 104 recommendations from a review conducted by Glenn Ferguson and Gary Black, which included broader clauses for terminating industrial action on the basis of public interest concerns. Miles criticized these changes as reminiscent of past controversial reforms under former Premier Campbell Newman and called Bleijie an ideologue who cannot be trusted regarding workers' rights.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-15, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie has introduced sweeping changes to Queensland's industrial relations laws that grant him powers to terminate protected industrial action. This move, announced on October 14 and tabled the following night, is part of a broader overhaul based on recommendations from a government-commissioned review conducted by Glenn Ferguson and Gary Black. The bill proposes fit and proper person tests for union officials seeking entry rights at worksites, increased penalties for WorkCover fraud, and new avenues for employers to apply to suspend or terminate strikes under specific conditions. Labor leader Steven Miles has criticized the changes as a "Newman-era attack on workers," suggesting they should have been addressed in the 2024 election. The bill has been referred to a parliamentary committee for examination before further debate.

Written for “Qld Labour Law Overhaul” on 2026-10-15, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.45, but all 3 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 81495: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-15

Story

📰 Qld Labour Law Overhaul
Politics · 4 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 16% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Sydney Morning Herald · 0.87 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 3 📰 publisher trust 61
“Both articles describe the introduction of a bill related to workers' compensation and industrial relations by Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie on the same day.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 15% hedged 4 of 26 📰 publisher trust 61
“While both articles discuss similar labor law changes in Queensland, they describe different aspects of the event with distinct publication dates.”
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 12% hedged 3 of 26 📰 publisher trust 72
“While both articles discuss proposed industrial relations laws introduced by Jarrod Bleijie in Queensland, Article A focuses on the details and immediate implications of the bill being referred to a parliamentary committee for examination. In contrast, Article B emphasizes the political context and opposition's criticism about the timing and scope of these changes relative to the 2024 election.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
16%
3 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-15 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 3743 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Matt Dennien
17 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie introduced a bill acting on calls from a government-commissioned review on Wednesday night, claiming key provisions would align with federal powers. But the new ability for Bleijie to terminate protected industrial action by workers negotiating deals with government is far broader than the federal law it is said to be based on.
🔮 Bleijie flagged the bill earlier in the day while tabling a government-commissioned review into the state’s workers’ compensation scheme and industrial relations laws, announcing the LNP would move to act on its recommendations immediately. After coming to power with a limited industrial relations agenda, the government has put forward legislation which proposes to, among other things, hand Bleijie powers to terminate protected industrial action.
🔮 But despite its heightened share of the primary voting intention in the state steadying at above 20 per cent, only 13 per cent of voters believe One Nation would be the best party to handle the state’s budget, rising slightly to 15 per cent in marginal seats.
🔮 Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie would be handed powers to terminate protected industrial action under the Queensland government’s long-awaited overhaul of workplace laws.
🔮 “That’s what we are doing every day, and will continue to do every day … across every front, things are getting worse.”
🔮 But given the significance of the bill and the powers it will extend to the government and relevant departments, Labor MPs on the committee questioned why the departments’ directors-general were not the ones giving the briefing.
🔮 The next state election will be held in late October 2028.
🔮 Disaster Recovery Minister Ann Leahy said she had sent an open letter to the Albanese government last week signed by every mayor in the state, and other stakeholders.
🔮 “[This is] something that I have been working as attorney with the New South Wales Attorney-General Michael Daley on for several months, and the reason why I was so determined to support that application was because victims deserve … their time in court, and that’s what they will now get in New South Wales for that person.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Notorious childcare paedophile to face trial in NSW
🔮 On Monday’s agenda was a bill floated by the Crisafulli government last sitting week, which would make prisoners on life sentences jump through extra hoops to get parole.
Also by Matt Dennien
Miles digs in, despite leadership grumblings, poor polling
2026-10-14 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 17 articles by Matt Dennien →
William Davis
30 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie introduced a bill acting on calls from a government-commissioned review on Wednesday night, claiming key provisions would align with federal powers. But the new ability for Bleijie to terminate protected industrial action by workers negotiating deals with government is far broader than the federal law it is said to be based on.
🔮 Bleijie flagged the bill earlier in the day while tabling a government-commissioned review into the state’s workers’ compensation scheme and industrial relations laws, announcing the LNP would move to act on its recommendations immediately. After coming to power with a limited industrial relations agenda, the government has put forward legislation which proposes to, among other things, hand Bleijie powers to terminate protected industrial action.
🔮 “That’s what we are doing every day, and will continue to do every day … across every front, things are getting worse.”
🔮 But given the significance of the bill and the powers it will extend to the government and relevant departments, Labor MPs on the committee questioned why the departments’ directors-general were not the ones giving the briefing.
🔮 Slipping property prices could reduce the number of new homes built in Brisbane, Queensland’s housing minister has warned, echoing his leader’s criticism of federal Labor’s tax changes in the May budget.
🔮 Up to 15 millimetres could fall on Tuesday as a trough approaches south-east Queensland, the Bureau of Meteorology believes, with wet weather likely to return later in the week.
🔮 When asked about next steps, he referred to his comments outside court on Thursday, where he had indicated Wood’s legal team would apply for bail in the Supreme Court.
🔮 The pair were not mother and daughter, police said, but officers could not confirm their relationship on Friday morning.
2026-10-08 · assertive framing · Woman and young girl found dead in SUV crashed into dam
🔮 Under-Treasurer Paul Williams was paid $810,000.
🔮 Up to 40 millimetres of rain could hit isolated areas on Tuesday, stretching from the NSW border north to the Fraser Coast city of Maryborough, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. “Some of those storms this afternoon and this evening are likely to be severe, with large hail, damaging winds and heavy rainfall,” senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said.
Also by William Davis
Miles digs in, despite leadership grumblings, poor polling
2026-10-14 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 30 articles by William Davis →

Topics

Bleijie Fair Work Act Industrial Relations WorkCover the Crisafulli LNP

Subjects

Bleijie PERSON · 8× Miles PERSON · 3× Jack McGuire PERSON · 2× Jarrod Bleijie PERSON · 2× Campbell Newman PERSON · 1× Glenn Ferguson PERSON · 1× Peter Reith PERSON · 1× Steven Miles PERSON · 1× WorkCover ORG · 1× the Crisafulli LNP ORG · 1×

Narrative

Similar to the federal provisions, Bleijie would also have powers to then make directions requiring employers or workers take particular action, with civil penalties for any breach of these. “So that’s our job for the next 6 weeks - convince the committee and the government that these changes have not nearly gone far enough.”Red Union director Jack McGuire The sweeping changes come despite a limited industrial relations agenda taken to the 2024 election by the Crisafulli LNP, and protracted public negotiations with several major state workforces.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-15
🔮 Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie introduced a bill acting on calls from a government-commissioned review on Wednesday night, claiming key provisions would align with federal powers. But the new ability for Bleijie to terminate protected industrial action by workers negotiating deals with government is far broader than the federal law it is said to be based on.
2026-10-15 · The Sydney Morning Herald
‘Newman-era attack on workers’ should have gone to 2024 poll: Miles · assertive framing

Claims (19 extracted, 3 hedged)

Opposition Leader Steven Miles has accused the Crisafulli LNP of misleading voters by not having taken its sweeping industrial relations law changes to the 2024 election. asserted
Miles → accuse → election
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie introduced a bill acting on calls from a government-commissioned review on Wednesday night, claiming key provisions would align with federal powers. But the new ability for Bleijie to terminate protected industrial action by workers negotiating deals with government is far broader than the federal law it is said to be based on. asserted
it → introduce → law
Bleijie defended the proposed changes, which extend further across the industrial relations and workers’ compensation landscape on Thursday morning, saying the powers would be used sparingly. asserted
powers → defend → morning
“Federally and [in] other jurisdictions that have these laws, you’ll find that they will be very, very limited,” Bleijie told reporters at a media conference with supportive business and industry groups. asserted
Bleijie → have → groups
Fronting media with various union figures outside state parliament on Thursday afternoon, Miles called Bleijie an “ideologue” who could “not be trusted when it comes to workers’ rights”. uncertain
it → front → rights
“This is the kind of thing you saw in WorkChoices, you saw from Peter Reith, you saw from Campbell Newman,” Miles said. asserted
Miles → see → Newman
“They’ve just returned to their playbook.” asserted
They → return → playbook
The review, also tabled on Wednesday, was conducted by former Bleijie-appointed WorkCover chair Glenn Ferguson and Industrial Relations Commissioner Gary Black. asserted
review → table → Ferguson
It made 104 recommendations, 75 of which the government accepted in full and 14 which were accepted in-principle. asserted
which → make → principle
While the federal Fair Work Act allows that minister to end industrial action if it would threaten the lives, health or welfare of part of the population, or the economy, the review called for more. asserted
review → allow → more
It recommended a further element that would allow industrial action “taken by frontline or critical service delivery workers” to be scrapped “on the basis of concerns about service delivery impacts”. asserted
action → recommend → impacts
Ultimately, the proposed bill – now subject to a period of public consultation through a parliamentary committee – included an even broader clause. asserted
bill → propose → clause
This would allow Bleijie to terminate protected industrial action if he is satisfied it would threaten to “otherwise have a significant effect that is contrary to the public interest”. asserted
that → allow → interest
Similar to the federal provisions, Bleijie would also have powers to then make directions requiring employers or workers take particular action, with civil penalties for any breach of these. “So that’s our job for the next 6 weeks - convince the committee and the government that these changes have not nearly gone far enough.”Red Union director Jack McGuire The sweeping changes come despite a limited industrial relations agenda taken to the 2024 election by the Crisafulli LNP, and protracted public negotiations with several major state workforces. asserted
changes → have → workforces
Such negotiations have resulted in work bans in hospitals, and strikes by teachers, youth justice and child safety workers – some of whom may have to renegotiate deals before the 2028 state election. uncertain
some → result → election
The proposed changes, and further proposed reviews of laws and public sector union policies, are also said by Bleijie to be aimed at increasing “freedom” for workers to choose their representation. asserted
workers → propose → representation
Red Union director Jack McGuire, who oversees a raft of associations seeking to compete with registered unions for members, has claimed the bill as it is has “not nearly gone far enough”. asserted
it → oversee → members
“We can have no faith and no trust that this is the extent of his plans,” Miles said of Premier David Crisafulli and his agenda for the government. asserted
Miles → have → government
“There might be a second or third wave, but just this first wave is bad enough, giving Jarrod Bleijie sweeping powers to take away the rights of workers.” uncertain
wave → give → workers
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