Miles was initially a member of the
Labor Right faction, but switched to
Labor Left after he failed to win a
preselection ballot for the seat of
Pine Rivers prior to the
2009 Queensland state election. Miles was first elected to state seat of
Mount Coot-tha at the
2015 state election. He was sworn in as
Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection and Minister for National Parks and the Great Barrier Reef in the
First Palaszczuk ministry on 16 February 2015. As Environment Minister, Miles announced Queensland's first
container deposit scheme to improve recycling of can and bottles, which began operating in 2018. Following an electoral redistribution in 2017 that abolished the seat of Mount Coot-tha, Miles stood for the North Brisbane electorate of
Murrumba and was elected in the
2017 state election. He was appointed and sworn in as the Minister for Health and Ambulance Services in the
Second Palaszczuk ministry after the election. In May 2020, Miles was appointed Deputy Premier of Queensland, following the resignation of the previous Deputy Premier
Jackie Trad. He continued to be Minister for Health and Ambulance Services until the
2020 state election, after which he was appointed the Minister for State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning in the
Third Palaszczuk ministry. He was initially opposed for the leadership by
Shannon Fentiman, but Fentiman subsequently withdrew after a deal was struck between Miles and
Cameron Dick of the right faction in which Dick would become deputy premier. He was
elected unopposed on 15 December 2023 and sworn in as premier on the same day. Miles' initial priorities as premier included addressing
cost of living pressures, legislating stronger climate and
emissions reductions targets, and reducing youth crime.
Cost of living The Miles Government introduced a package of measures in 2024 to ease cost of living pressures including: • 50 cent flat-rate fares on
public transport across Queensland to save money for commuters and reduce road congestion. A six-month trial of 50 cent fares began on 5 August 2024. By September 2024, the trial has deemed successful with public transport patronage increasing beyond pre-
pandemic levels. Miles committed to making 50 cent fares permanent if his Labor Government was re-elected. • $1000 electricity rebate for all Queensland households. This was in addition to the $300 electricity rebate provided to households by the federal
Albanese Government in the 2024 federal budget. • 20 percent reduction in vehicle registration fees for 12 months. • $200 vouchers to assist families with children aged 5–17 with the cost of membership and participation in sport. The cost of living measures were funded by the State Government's progressive coal royalties regime, which provided an additional $9.4 billion in revenue to Queensland since it was introduced in 2022. The Miles Government passed legislation to protect progressive coal royalties being removed by a future LNP government. In August 2024, Miles announced that a re-elected Labor Government would lower petrol prices by establishing 12 state-owned fuel stations to improve competition, as well as ban fuel stations from raising the price of fuel more than once a day, and require fuel stations to release price changes a day in advance.
Environment and climate change Queensland saw a 35 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, which beat the Labor Government's previous emissions target of 30 percent reduction by 2030. In 2024, the Miles Government passed the
Clean Economy Jobs Act 2024 and
Energy (Renewable Transformation and Jobs) Act 2024 to legislate stronger emissions reductions targets of 75 percent by 2035 and net zero by 2050, and set Queensland's renewable energy targets at 50 percent by 2030, 70 percent by 2032 and 80 percent by 2035. The legislation also entrenched public ownership of energy assets and established a $150 million Job Security Guarantee and Fund to ensure energy workers at existing publicly owned power stations and associated coal mines have access to new jobs and training or financial assistance during the State's transition to renewable energy. At the 2024–25 State Budget, the Miles Government announced $26 billion over four years would be invested into renewable power, storage and transmission projects in Queensland, including $8.68 billion in 2024–25 alone. Miles also opposed the federal
Liberal National Party proposal to support to introduce nuclear energy to Australia and construct nuclear reactors in Queensland. In 2024, the Miles Government expanded environmental protection in Queensland by banning all
carbon capture and storage in the
Great Artesian Basin;
protecting an additional 59,000 hectares of land by creating two new national parks (The Lakes National Park near
Hughenden and Malbon Thompson Range National Park near
Cairns) and expanding 18 existing national parks; and adding 140 islands or parts of islands within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park to Queensland's protected areas estate.
Housing and homelessness In 2024 Miles announced the $3.1 billion 'Homes for Queenslanders' plan to build one million new homes by 2046, including 53,000 new social homes. As part of that plan the Miles Government passed rental reform legislation that strengthen the rights of tenants, banned rent-bidding by real estate agents, created a portable bond scheme to allow tenants to transfer bond from one property to another. Miles also announced every specialist homelessness services in Queensland would receive a 20 percent increase in funding. The Miles Government removed
stamp duty for first homebuyers on properties valued up to $700,000.
Social policy The Miles Government passed legislation in 2024 to decriminalise the
sex work industry that repealed all previously existing criminal offences relating to sex work and improved the health, safety, and workplace rights of sex workers.
2024 election At the
2024 Queensland state election, Labor was defeated, losing 15 seats with a 7%
two-party-preferred swing towards the
Liberal National Party (LNP). Miles conceded the election on the night but initially held back on conceding to LNP leader
David Crisafulli, claiming the LNP would not be able to form a majority. He conceded defeat to Crisafulli at a press conference the next day after the election was called in the LNP's favour, having won a majority. Per state Labor Party rules, the defeat triggered an automatic
leadership spill. Miles was
re-elected unopposed as Labor leader, and hence Leader of the Opposition, after senior Labor MPs
Cameron Dick and
Shannon Fentiman chose not to contest the leadership. ==Personal life==