Qld minister spruiks Labor's union ties

Queensland's health minister has rejected suggestions Labor's close relationship to unions are to blame for its poor performance in Brisbane's local government election.

Brisbane's former Labor deputy mayor David Hinchliffe has described the party's defeat as "its worst result in a century".

With votes still being counted, the party is likely to be left with only five seats from 26 in Brisbane City Council.

Incumbent Liberal National Party (LNP) Mayor Graham Quirk also comfortably retained his position, despite polls and pundits expecting Labor's challenger Rod Harding to make it a closer race than it ended up being.

Mr Hinchliffe says the result shows it's time for Labor to reassess its relationship with unions.

"A separation of unions from the Labor Party would be best for both," Mr Hinchliffe wrote in a column for The Courier-Mail on Monday.

"Labor would be free from the stigma of being the mouthpiece of certain key unions and from the corrosive dominance of several union leaders."

He said unions would also be better off focusing on the membership than politics.

But Health Minister Cameron Dick rejected the sentiment, arguing it was a mutually-beneficial relationship.

"I believe one of the things that has kept us strong historically is the connection to working Queenslanders - to everyday Queenslanders - and that connection comes through the trade union movement," Mr Dick said.

"I don't think disconnecting ourselves from the trade union movement is the way for us to stay connected with the community, I think it will result in the opposite."

Mr Dick said it was important for Labor to assess what went wrong at the local level.

"I think we have to have a good look at the campaign we ran, the policies we put to the people to work out the way forward at a council level," he said.

Mr Quirk's victory means he'll push ahead with his promised $1.54 billion Brisbane Metro subway network.

Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said he would write to Mr Quirk on Monday to discuss the plan and potential funding models.

"I have an open mind to work with him," Mr Hinchliffe said.