Election signs will be banned from roundabouts and the time they can be displayed slashed, under an advertising shake-up proposed by a major south-east Queensland council.
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Moreton Bay councillors last week voted to tighten election sign regulations, with the proposal to go out for public consultation from January 7 next year.
The move comes after a Supreme Court challenge to the Moreton Bay Regional Council's election advertising rules, which was being pursued by a handful of LNP candidates, including current Queensland deputy leader Tim Mander.
The case was put on hold during negotiations with the council.
Under the proposal, mayoral candidates would be allowed to have 300 signs displayed across the region while state election candidates would be restricted to 120.
The time corflutes can be displayed will be cut down to six weeks before polling day on private and public land, while they will have to be removed one week afterwards.
Corflutes would be banned within 20 metres of key "driver decision areas", for example school zone signs, roundabouts and intersections.
It comes after several changes were adopted in October 2017 as an interim measure to cover the state election.
Mayor Allan Sutherland said the council had attempted to compromise with the LNP and put the issue out to public consultation.
"But locals have loudly and almost unanimously told us that they don't want electoral signage laws relaxed," he said.
"In fact they want to see stricter limitations enforced on political parties and their campaign signage to prevent a proliferation of election material all year round."
Cr Sutherland said the council's lawyers had already spent about six weeks on the case at a cost of $100,000.
"Frankly, it's a waste of time and money," he said.
"Which is why I urge the LNP to respect the views of our community."
Cr Sutherland said Moreton Bay was the "kingmaker" of state and federal politics and urged both major parties not to ignore the region.
"We are the region that determines government," he said.
"Politics is a numbers game and the most important seats in any election are the swinging seats - and the most significant swinging seats are right here.
"Look at the state election in 2015: Kallangur, Morayfield, Murrumba, Pine Rivers, Pumicestone and Redcliffe all changed from blue to red, helping Labor scrape across the line into office.
"Then following the 2017 state election we saw four ministers from this region elevated to the Queensland cabinet - that's the biggest voting bloc in cabinet of any region in Queensland."
An LNP spokesman said the party stood by its submission to the Moreton Bay Regional Council.
"[The LNP] will now consider a response as part of the public consultation process," he said.
The stoush dates back to the 2016 federal election campaign when lawyer Shane Williamson, acting for immigration and border protection Minister Peter Dutton, former assistant minister Wyatt Roy and member for Petrie Luke Howarth, wrote to the council.
Mr Williamson argued the restrictions were “incompatible with the constitutionally mandated system of responsible government".
