They have been bitter political rivals for several years, but now Education Minister Kate Jones and Campbell Newman could unite over robots in Queensland schools.
Ms Jones said she would welcome the opportunity to meet with the man she toppled in 2015 for the seat of Ashgrove, in his new role with a robotics company.
"I know that Campbell Newman's passion for robotics and future industries is genuine," she said on Friday.
"We are working with a number of companies across Queensland to encourage robots in schools, so I'm happy to sit down with Campbell Newman and if he has ideas how we could do that more quickly then I thank him for his genuine commitment to this issue."
Mr Newman spoke about the rise of machines at an Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce event in Brisbane on Thursday night.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
The former premier took the unusual step of complimenting Ms Jones and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk over their decision to make the study of coding compulsory in Queensland schools in their first year of government.
But the former LNP premier, who is involved with a company trying to run coding and robotics courses in schools, said the institutions weren't interested.
"I can tell you now we are having zero success or very minimal success," he said.
"It is banging your head against the wall and this is the problem, the schools are terrified."
Mr Newman said he should talk to Ms Jones about the issue but his involvement in the company meant he was commercially conflicted.
"The point I'm making is this very real issue about preparing kids," he said.
"It's a government policy but the schools are terrified, they don't want to know.
"We are really, really, I think, in a bad space education-wise."
The pair have been longstanding rivals since Mr Newman beat Ms Jones at the 2012 election to secure the electorate of Ashgrove.
She then won it back in 2015, removing the sitting premier from his seat in an election that also saw his government swept from office after one term.
The conciliatory words between the two come less than two months after Mr Newman attacked LNP leader Tim Nicholls over his attempt to distance himself from the former premier's government.
