A coalition MP says he doesn't want Syrian refugees resettled in his regional Queensland seat.
The Turnbull government is in the process of permanently resettling 12,000 persecuted Syrian refugees.
The government is aiming to resettle them not simply in cities but regional areas.
Dawson MP George Christensen - who is set to host an election campaign visit by former prime minister Tony Abbott this week - says on his Facebook page he had sought assurances the refugees would not be resettled in his electorate.
"I can assure local residents that rumours of Syrian refugees being housed at Jilalan or anywhere in the Mackay region are false," Mr Christensen said.
"I believe any jobs that are available in the region need to go to our residents who are already struggling to find work, and we don't need to introduce more people to contest that pool of jobs."
Mr Christensen said he had been advised by the Assistant Minister for Multiculturalism Craig Laundy that Sarina "is not currently a designated settlement location".
"Further to this, I've advised the (minister) ... that the Mackay region won't be able to handle an influx of refugees given the state of the regional economy."
He said only a few refugees had been resettled to date because of difficulties in assessing their backgrounds.
"We are therefore not willing to risk national security."
Mr Laundy's office told AAP that Mr Christensen had written to the assistant minister specifically about the Sarina area.
The assistant minister had responded that while decisions about resettlement areas around the country were still being finalised, Sarina did not have any local resettlement services in place, which would rule it out of contention.
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