To understand what’s happening in the Coalition, you have to understand Queensland – and “it’s strange spot in Australian power structure”, Amy Remeikis argues.

To understand what’s happening in the Coalition, you have to understand Queensland.

And, despite it pulling Australian politics around by the nose since a group of striking shearers came up with a manifesto in 1801, understanding Queensland is as rare as seeing the bottom of the Brisbane River.

It occupies a strange spot in Australian power structures. Like Western Australia, Queensland’s powerbrokers do not usually have the institutional networks that really decide power in this country.

It’s easier for an Angus Taylor or a Tim Wilson to get backing and advancement within a party than it is for an Andrew Hastie or Andrew Wallace, no matter how much these people think “merit” or “talent” is what sets them apart.

Institutionally, South Australians have stronger networks than the renegade states (in the federal gallery and in the parliament – the common thread being a strong desire to get out of South Australia. I was born in Mount Gambier and therefore am allowed to say this).

But Queensland and WA? That’s God’s country. Why would you need any other kingdom?

WA is hampered by distance and its centralisation, from truly throwing its power around. But as a resource state with a predisposition to tantrums and a chip on its shoulder the size of Indonesia, it still gets to make its presence known.

But the great nation of Queensland has the resources, the proximity and the decentralisation........

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