Scott Morrison is hoping his message about jobs will set crucial Queensland seats on fire - and burn Labor over its climate policies.
The prime minister made a flying visit to Gladstone on Friday afternoon to unveil what he says is a hit list of companies that will lose out if Labor is elected on May 18.
"There's a lot of carbon emissions in Central Queensland. And a policy to reduce carbon emissions is going to hit right in the midriff - Central Queensland," he told reporters at AusProof, a company that designs and manufactures cables used in mining operations around the world.
But the estimates, all in the millions of dollars, assumed companies would not try to reduce pollution in their businesses or buy domestic credits and instead pay a high price for international offsets.
He also insisted the coalition's own policies would easily cut Australia's emissions, despite them rising since the Abbott government scrapped Labor's carbon price.
Gladstone is in the seat of Flynn, which Nationals MP Ken O'Dowd holds by 1.04 per cent, the coalition's fourth most marginal seat.
Mr O'Dowd described the city as "the carbon capital of the world", with its 43-year-old coal power station, aluminium smelter, gas exports and heavy industry.
Earlier, Mr Morrison toured a building site in Townsville to meet apprentices and see the work on an innovative project that's part of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, creating homes that enable people with disability to live alone.
The coalition is promising to double the size of a trial program that encourages regional businesses to take on apprentices by having taxpayers help cover their wages.
Jobs and employment opportunities are hot topics in the north Queensland town in the nation's most marginal seat, Herbert, held by Labor's Cathy O'Toole by 0.02 points.
Unemployment in Townsville was eight per cent in February, well above the national average of five per cent, and more than one in six young people are jobless.
Liberal candidate for the seat Phillip Thompson said this was part of the reason he put his hand up for politics, motivated by his daughter who is about to turn one.
"I didn't see a future for her here ... (she) would have to move to the south-east corner," he told reporters on Friday.
"I can tell you now, I don't want to lose any more young people or anyone to the south-east corner."
Electrotek Queensland has already employed three apprentices under the wage subsidy program and manager Sonya Corkery said they would take any government help they could get to put more people on.
"Apprentices are the future of our business," she told AAP.
"Because we've had a situation where not as many apprentices are coming through, we're feeling that there's a bit of a shortage of talent in the community, so the best way for us to move forward is actually to upskill those talents directly."
She conceded it was sometimes hard to find people committed to making a career as an electrician because apprentices were often young people just out of school and uncertain about their future.
The apprenticeship trial was oversubscribed within weeks of it starting in January, the government says.
