The party which said it had the back of regional areas at the state election only months ago has stooped to a new low with its plan to centralise its Police Communications Centres.

The plan includes moving Mount Isa’s call centre to Townsville.

There was outrage when a proposal to move Ipswich’s call centre to Brisbane was uncovered.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk stepped in and ordered the Police Commissioner not to move a communications centre from Ipswich until there has been more consultation.

Well done Ms Palaszczuk, you have stopped a call centre being moved from Ipswich to Brisbane, less than 40 kilometres apart.

So how do you explain not stepping in to stop the foolish plan to close the Mount Isa centre and have calls taken about 1000 kilometres away in Townsville?

The former LNP government was smart enough to realise moving the communications centre from Mount Isa to Townsville would jeopardise community safety.

And make no mistake this move will put lives at risk.

Calls would be received by people without any knowledge of landmarks and suburbs of Mount Isa.

When a caller decides it’s time to call for emergency help, they are under pressure and in distress. They are hardly thinking straight.

The person on the other end of the line needs to have an understanding of the landscape the call is being made from. They need to be able to prompt the caller to give a clear and accurate assessment of the emergency.

There has been a 25 per swing against the Labor party in Mount Isa since 2009 – expect that to stoop to a new low at the next poll with this appalling lack of leadership by Ms Palaszczuk.