LNP Leader Campbell Newman was keen to show what he “can do” when he visited Bundaberg yesterday.

The newly appointed leader walked the streets of the city with Member for Bundaberg Jack Dempsey and LNP candidate Stephen Bennett as a part of a “listening tour” he is conducting around the state.

During their walk, the former Brisbane lord mayor drew a small crowd, with a few residents approaching him to speak about their concerns.

One woman approached Mr Newman with questions about the fish lift at Paradise Dam and whether or not an elected LNP government would fix that.

But Mr Newman was forced to admit he was not familiar with the problem.

The politicians also visited produce processing plant Pressure Fresh and spoke with members of Bundaberg Regional Council.

Mr Newman said the point of the tour was to prioritise what needed to be done across the state.

But he said he felt major changes were needed on the role of local government.

Mr Newman said the reporting requirements that councils across the state had to fulfil were “draconian and stupid”.

“All I want to see from the Premier is to make sure the councils do the planning for their areas,” he said.

Mr Newman said the councils and development applicants often had to jump through hoops from government departments before getting approval to complete projects.

He also said he would make sure councils were adequately funded to build the infrastructure needs for their community.

“One of the most shameless and disgraceful things was taking the 40% sewerage and water subsidy away from councils.”

He said, if elected, the LNP government would support businesses and mining as a way to stimulate the stalling Queensland economy, whose mismanagement he blamed on the current Labor administration.

Mr Newman said he was also working on a plan to repair the Bruce Highway.