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Annastacia Palaszczuk has revealed she was rushed to hospital after suffering a medical episode during the Labor Party state conference earlier this year.
On her first day back following a two-week overseas holiday that was dominated by speculation about her future as Queensland premier, Palaszczuk fronted a press conference on Monday afternoon when she revealed she spent several hours in emergency care at Mackay Hospital in June.
“I shared with cabinet this morning that during the state conference, I had a medical episode,” Palaszczuk told reporters.
“I was rushed to emergency, I spent about five or six hours in Mackay Hospital.
“I want to thank the staff, they looked after me – the care was first-rate.
“I’m very confident that’s the way they look after other people that present to the hospitals as well.”
Palaszczuk didn’t divulge exactly what the medical issue was, but said she had gone through a number of tests afterwards which had cleared her.
The premier spent much of the marathon 35-minute press conference batting away questions about her position leading into next year’s election.
She said “not one person” had raised concerns about her leadership, and that she intended to remain at the helm for next October’s poll.
“I believe I’m the best person because I believe that we have the plans, the policy plans, for this state,” she said.
“Queensland’s best days are ahead of us, I’m even more convinced about that.”
However, with polls showing support for Labor is sliding, and a number of cabinet members forced to insist they have no ambitions of taking over as premier, Palaszczuk admitted she needed to improve.
“As the leader of the government, I can always do things better,” she said.
“And I need to communicate more to the people of the state, and I need to communicate more to the people of the party.”
Palaszczuk defended her decision to take a break, saying it was the last viable time to take leave before the upcoming bushfire season.
She also hit out at paparazzi who tracked her and her partner down at an Italian hotel in what she called an “invasion of privacy”.
