Newman knows fly-in, fly-out issue

CAN DO FLY IN: New LNP leader Campbell Newman used to be a fly-in fly-out consultant at Moura’s Dawson Mine.

NEW LNP leader Campbell Newman knows all about the fly-in fly-out culture that Moura is fighting against – he used to be one of those workers.

The former Brisbane Lord Mayor worked as a mining consultant at Moura's Dawson Mine for seven months in 1994, returning to Brisbane on weekends.

“I lived in town next to the fire station,” Mr Newman told Central Telegraph.

He said he ate at the single person's camp but stayed at a company duplex.

“I used to go to the Coal and Cattle (Hotel) On Thursday nights.”

Mr Newman, who will lead the LNP from outside of State Parliament with Callide MP Leader of the Opposition in the house, said he was concerned at the fly-in fly-out trend of mining giants.

“It's been made uneconomic to invest in building our regions.

“We need to give them a framework and incentive to invest.”

Mr Newman said he could not elaborate yet on how he planned to see more invested in places like Moura after he declared all of the LNP's polices null and void.

The new leader, endorsed by LNP MPs on Monday, said he wanted to review all policies, but expected a lot of it to be retained.

“It's no reflection on the policy work that's been done,” Mr Newman said.

He said he liked the royalties for regions concept as it demonstrated to regional areas a return of funds to local communities.

“They see coal trains going over the horizon with the wealth, but its not coming back.”

The policy review sees the LNP position statement on the coal seam gas (CSG) industry, dated March 2011 and written by Mr Seeney as Shadow Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, shelved just one week after it was released.

Mr Newman said he was concerned about the impact of the CSG industry on good quality farming land.

“It needs to be done in a co-operative way without making it hard to work a paddock with a tractor for example.”

He further pushed regional credentials by pointing out that he ran the state's grain handling in 2000-01, including Biloela and Moura's silos.

On Mr Seeney backing down on the guarantee, the man Mr Newman calls his “general manager of operations”, would be deputy premier depending on a party room vote.

He said the new shadow cabinet should be finalised in coming days.