Qld opposition says premier needs to 'front up' after child deaths report

Queensland's opposition has demanded the premier front up after a report revealing a rise in the number of children known to child safety who have died was released on the eve of the weekend's AFL grand final.

The Queensland Family and Child Commission's annual report reveals 452 children died in the last financial year, with preliminary figures showing 91 of those children were known to the child protection system.

This is an increase of 59.6 per cent on the previous year, when 57 children known to child safety died.

Labor's Shannon Fentiman said the increase was concerning, disturbing and heartbreaking.

"Where is the premier? Why isn't he taking accountability?" she said. "Where is he today fronting up the mess that is the child safety system?"

In a speech to parliament in 2021 addressing the death of children known to child safety, Mr Crisafulli called on the then-Labor government and premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to "show us what leadership looks like".

"Front up to the messes you have created," Mr Crisafulli said.

"Do not do a Friday afternoon dump when no-one is looking."

Labor leader Steven Miles took aim at the government's move to table more than 100 annual reports before and across the weekend of the AFL grand final.

"There is no Friday with less people looking than last Friday and that is when David Crisafulli decided to dump all of these reports," he said.

"He should stand up today and explain."

When asked, the premier's office did not respond directly to Labor's calls for Mr Crisafulli to front the media.

"Steven Miles will do, and say, anything to try and hold onto his leadership given media reports today that his own frontbench, backbench, union leaders, strategists, former ministers and their staff, want him gone by Christmas," a Crisafulli government spokesperson said.

Mr Miles has reiterated his commitment to leading the opposition to the 2028 state election today, following media reports senior Labor figures have raised concerns over the party's leadership and policies.

When asked whether he was concerned about the rise in deaths of children known to child safety, Police Minister Dan Purdie said he acknowledged the death of any child.

"We are doing more than Labor did in a long time in relation to child safety, whether it's the Commission of Inquiry, the work that we are doing, but we know there is always more work to do like there is with crime," he said.

Mr Purdie said the Queensland Police Service (QPS) annual report, which sits in his portfolio, was tabled on its due date.

"I have looked through that report over the weekend while watching some great games of football," he said. "In relation to the other reports I think those questions are best directed at those ministers."