Queensland's premier is struggling to reassert her election campaign with the pressure rising on her decision to veto a loan to Adani and chaos erupting on the hustings.
Annastacia Palaszczuk's major announcement about future-proofing the Bruce Highway on Monday turned into an extended half-hour grilling about Adani's Carmichael coal mine.
The premier continued to dodge and deny after maintaining she had to veto a Commonwealth loan to Adani for a train line from the Galilee Basin to the port after learning her partner worked on the Indian mining giant's application.
Providing federal funds requires the backing of the Queensland government, and Ms Palaszczuk has been dogged by questions since withdrawing her previously strong support, which would put thousands of jobs at risk, unable to find clear air to talk about Labor's policies.
But she has since offered another explanation, saying it shores up her 2015 election commitment that "not one single dollar of taxpayers' money" will go towards the project.
It has made her an easy target for Liberal National Party leader Tim Nicholls who was quick to highlight the premier's "muddle-headed thinking".
"First she says she wants it (the mine), she's prepared to give (Adani) a royalty tax holiday, she was was prepared to allow the investment from the Commonwealth to go through," he said on Monday.
"Now she doesn't want to and then she says she does want the jobs to go ahead. I mean, talk about confused."
Ms Palaszczuk was also caught off guard when longstanding Rockhampton Mayor Margaret Strelow threw her hat into the ring for the November 25 poll as an independent.
The premier, a factional ally who endorsed Ms Strelow's tilt at Labor pre-selection for the Rockhampton electorate, was unaware of the news as it was breaking.
Throwing Labor's re-election plans into further chaos, One Nation have cut a deal with Katter's Australia Party to preference each other above the ALP and Liberal National Party in a bid to gain greater influence in parliament.
Pauline Hanson believes her party can cause a shake up in parliament even more than their 1998 breakthrough, announcing it had aligned with KAP to seize more influence in parliament.
Senator Hanson's appeal has overshadowed the campaigns of the major parties, as she hit the campaign trail in her "Battler Bus" on a road trip that began in Brisbane.
Her party is a legitimate threat in central and northern seats where voter disillusionment runs high.
KAP state leader Robbie Katter said he'd informally discussed forming a bloc with One Nation's Steve Dickson several times since he defected from the LNP in January.
"A very strong reason for our existence is to create competition in parliament, shake things up, and reduce the influence of the two majors," he said.
