The first half of 2018 continued some well‐worn Queensland narratives as mixed economic fortunes still plagued the freshly re‐elected Palaszczuk Labor government. While a mammoth infrastructure budget and booming mining royalties offered rosy prospects, stubbornly high unemployment and slow wage growth drew a different picture for households. Despite these challenges, and others created by a Labor minister and a Labor backbencher, the Palaszczuk government continued to dominate the Liberal‐National Party (LNP) Opposition both in the parliament and in the polls.