Qld government MP quits parliament

MAVERICK Queensland government MP Chris Davis has resigned from parliament, saying recent laws go against his and his electorate's values.

The rogue MP was dumped as assistant health minister last week for breaching cabinet solidarity when he spoke out against changes to the state's corruption watchdog and doctor contracts.

At the time, Dr Davis said he had stood on some powerful toes and was demoted partly because he raised concerns with Premier Campbell Newman about looming changes to political donations.

His dissatisfaction came to a head on Thursday night, when he told parliament he couldn't support his government's policy to remove caps on political donations and raise disclosure thresholds.

He left the chamber before the laws were put to a vote.

While he says his sacking was a catalyst to his immediate departure, the accumulation of controversial legislation had weighed heavily on his conscience.

"The passage of recent government legislation affecting critical aspects of our democracy goes contrary to my value system and that of the majority of my electorate," he said on a statement on his website.

"I would never have stood for parliament on such a platform, nor do I believe I would have been elected."

A by-election will be held in the north Brisbane seat.

It's the second for the Newman government after disgraced MP Scott Driscoll quit after being found guilty of contempt for dodgy business dealings.

A ReachTel poll commissioned by Dr Davis, released on Friday, shows he had the support of his electorate on controversial legislation.

Of the 687 residents polled on Wednesday night, 60 per cent didn't support removing donation limits to political parties.

On the Crime and Misconduct Commission changes, 47 per cent opposed the laws, 15 per cent supported them, 25 per cent didn't know and 13 per cent were undecided.

The majority of the electorate (61 per cent) didn't think Dr Davis should have been stood down as Assistant Health Minister and 48 per cent had a favourable opinion of him as their local member, while 28 per cent were neutral.

That compares to just 23 per cent who had a favourable opinion of the premier, and 16 per cent who had a neutral opinion.

If Dr Davis ran as an independent, 49 per cent would be more likely to support him.

Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said Dr Davis' resignation was a vote of no confidence in Premier Campbell Newman's leadership.

"The member for Stafford has dramatically resigned after a turbulent week in parliament," she told reporters.

"We need to restore honesty and integrity back into Queensland."

But the Labor leader downplayed her party's chances of regaining Stafford, which the Liberal National Party holds by a 7.1 per cent margin.

"We're going to fight very hard. It will be a tough battle but I sense a deep sea of unrest."

There is no time limit on when a by-election must be called.

Governor Penelope Wensley would have the responsibility of calling a by-election rather than Speaker Fiona Simpson because Dr Davis quit after a parliamentary sitting.

Premier Campbell Newman said he was disappointed about the resignation of Dr Davis, who didn't give a courtesy call.

He said while he supported MPs who quit for health and family reasons, he believed Dr Davis had a responsibility to serve a full term.

The premier dismissed Dr Davis' poll that showed the government was out of touch with the electorate, saying the wording of some of the questions was misleading.

He said he would have liked Dr Davis to stay on and had offered to brief him on electoral reforms.

Dr Davis didn't take him up the offer.

"We have no problem with members speaking out on occasions when they are passionate about things," Mr Newman said.

"The LNP is a team that permits people to cross the floor and he could have done that last night."

Mr Newman has two candidates in mind to run in Stafford, but said it would ultimately be up to the party.

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