Katter's Australian Party will preference the Liberal National Party for the first time in a crucial north Queensland region at the state election.
KAP state leader Robbie Katter has confirmed the party will ask its supporters to preference the opposition in Townsville instead of Labor at the October 26 poll.
"We've always had a position of neutrality on our preferences, and that's because we don't like endorsing one side or the other," he told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
"But it does hit a point where you say, well, if someone's been that bad, they need to be taught a lesson."
A perceived lack of action on youth crime has driven Robbie Katter's decision. (Scott Radford-Chisholm/AAP PHOTOS)
Mr Katter said the main catalyst for the party's new position was rising crime in the north, which he believed the government had not addressed.
North Queensland seats Townsville, Thuringowa and Mundingburra are all held by Labor on a similar three per cent margin.
KAP holds four of Queensland parliament's 93 seats, with 51 held by Labor.
The party is looking to pick up more ground in the north, running in another six seats.
Mr Katter said preferencing the LNP would maximise the chances of KAP candidates.
"We have a very good chance of winning another one or two seats ... we're good at collecting preferences off other parties," he said.
Steven Miles is targeting the state's north at the start of the campaign. (Darren England/AAP PHOTOS)
The state's north was Premier Steven Miles' first stop on the election campaign trail, having visited Townsville numerous times over the past six months.
"Townsville is Queensland's most important regional city, and that means that Townsville is important for Queensland's future," Mr Miles told reporters.
The opposition is tipped to end Labor's nine-year reign, with LNP leader David Crisafulli consistently leading the polls.
The latest results show the LNP leads Mr Miles' Labor 56 per cent to 44 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.
To govern in Queensland, a party needs 47 seats to win an election with a majority.Â
The LNP currently holds 35, but experts have predicted a big swing to the opposition.
Opinion polls have David Crisafulli's LNP well ahead of Steven Miles' Labor government. (Darren England/Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS)
Mr Miles ruled out a coalition deal with the Greens - which hold two seats - or KAP if Labor failed to reach a majority.
"No. There will be no deals, no coalition governments," he said on Tuesday.
"I've been in a minority government, I have no intention and I can categorically rule out any deals with anyone."
However, Mr Miles said in the event of no parliamentary majority, he would follow due process and test the numbers of the floor.
Mr Crisafulli is looking to become the first LNP premier since Campbell Newman's stint between 2012 and 2015.
The LNP will begin the day in Brisbane on Wednesday, while Labor is in Mackay.
Mr Crisafulli will unveil a $30 million agriculture innovation fund to boost farming productivity during a speech at the AgForce conference.
Mr Miles will be announcing another publicly owned energy retailer if re-elected to increase competition in the market.
It would operate state-wide, unlike regional Ergon Energy.