• Boundaries to be reviewed under an LNP gov't
• Rate payers would shoulder cost

Residents of the Douglas region may be given the opportunity to de-amalgamate from Cairns Regional Council should the Liberal-National Party win the next State election, according to LNP candidate, Campbell Newman.

But ratepayers of the proposed new local authority would bear the full cost of the de-amalgamation process.

Mr Newman told The Newsport that the Labor Government had forced amalgamation on the people of Queensland and the LNP was offering local communities like Port Douglas the opportunity to de-amalgamate if there was overwhelming community support for the move.

"The LNP believes that local government is about local communities and if Port Douglas residents overwhelmingly support the creation of a new council, we won't stand in their way, as long as the figures stack up," Mr Newman said.

"However ratepayers need to go into it with their eyes open, and because the Labor Government has put the budget in a parlous state, the state won't be in a financial position to pay for de-amalgamation."

Mr Newman says should the LNP win the next State election, a Boundary Review Commission would be set up within 100 days of winning government “to re-consider communities and boundaries”.

The local community could then petition the independent Boundary Commissioner to review and evaluate the local government boundaries and financial implications, with the State Government to check the financial modelling put forward so that if necessary, adjustments could be made to reflect the full cost of the process.

Once the boundaries and the financial position had been identified, residents would vote by a simple majority on whether or not they wished to establish a new Council, with the ratepayers of the proposed new local authority to bear the full costs of the de-amalgamation process.

Mr Newman said the LNP would give local communities the opportunity to examine de-amalgamation, but the independent Boundary Review Commissioner would not recommend de-amalgamation if a financial burden was placed on either the proposed council or the existing amalgamated council.

The plan comes after Deputy Premier and Local Government Minister, Paul Lucas, accused Mr Newman of being committed to taking Queensland backwards and hoisting rate rises on the state through his pledge to de-amalgamate local councils.

"I'm worried his pledge to de-amalgamate local councils will result in rate increases being forced on every Queensland resident in every Queensland town as councils struggle to cope with the costs of de-amalgamation under the LNP’s plan,” Mr Lucas said.

"What this proves again is that Campbell Newman is willing to say anything he needs to secure a vote, even if it's against the best interests of Queensland.

"If it was good enough for Campbell Newman to be Mayor of most successful amalgamated city in Australia, he should say why it's good enough for Brisbane to get the benefits, but not the communities where he is playing local politics.”

In April, Member for Cook, Jason O’Brien, called for Mr Newman to visit the Douglas region to obtain a first-hand account on how the region was hurting economically.

"People and businesses in my electorate, especially the Tablelands, Port Douglas, the Islands and the Cape, are still doing things very tough, and Mr Newman should have been up here straight away so that he fully understands the economic and financial pain in the Far North," Mr O'Brien said.

Mr Newman’s office has not confirmed if a planned visit to the Douglas region is imminent.