With the federal election only months away, a political academic says Labor must focus on holding the seats it already holds in Queensland.

John Mickel, a former Labor Speaker, explained why the election hadn’t been called yet.

“My hunch is, he wouldn’t have called because he probably felt at that time he couldn’t win,” he told Scott Emerson.

“You only call an early election if you are pretty sure you can win.”

He said Labor should focus on keeping the six seats it already has, with very low margins.

“You’ve got to hang onto what you’ve got.”

He said in the resources states of Queensland and Western Australia, the Coalition holds 33 out of 45 seats.

“Queensland is the safest territory for the Coalition.”

Press PLAY to hear more of his insights

Image: Getty iStock