In Parliament, Kidston began agitating for a broad coalition of progressive elements to defeat the conservative "Continuous Ministry" now led by Hugh Nelson and achieve electoral reform. Such overtures met with little enthusiasm from either the Labor or Liberal elements. In 1899 he was re-elected and campaigned against Federation of the Australian colonies, believing that the proposed Constitution would disadvantage Queensland financially and disappointed by the provision leaving the creation of new states in the hands of the existing state parliaments. He was again re-elected in 1902, by which stage the separatist movement was dying down.