It's about as far from the halls of power as you can get.

In the north of the Sunshine State, the expansive Queensland electorate of Traeger is the state's second largest in size, stretching deep across mining pits and red dirt plains, spilling into the sea in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

This part of Queensland has long been dubbed Katter country, with a family legacy of Katters representing the region at a state or federal level since the 1960s.

In 2012, a then 35-year-old Robbie Katter was passed the torch and became the state member, holding onto the third safest seat with an enviable 24.7 per cent margin.

With a median age of 34, four years younger than the rest of the state, the region has long attracted young professionals and families looking to get a head start in the bush.

According to 2021 Census data, 25 to 29-year-olds are the largest voting share in the electorate.

As the state election looms, some locals say Mr Katter's outspoken views, which have long courted him favour with the electorate, risk becoming the very thing to turn voters away.

Youthful glow of the outback

Making her way to a Mount Isa polling booth, 24-year-old Kendall Brilley admits that before packing up her life on the Gold Coast 10 months ago, she'd never heard of the incumbent MP.

"I've learned about Robbie Katter and really value that he puts Mount Isa people at the centre of his campaign and thinking about what the people need," she said.

But his recent proposal to wind back abortion laws if re-elected had swayed her vote.

"He would benefit society out here immensely, however, his views on abortion outweigh that for me, which is sad," Ms Brilley said.

A victim of youth crime in recent weeks, Ms Brilley is also trying to balance the best-placed candidate to tackle that issue.

"Liberal [LNP] are pushing adult crime, adult time. I don't personally believe that is the answer, I want to see a diversion policy, that's what I'll be looking at when making my decision," she said.

Kosta Kelley, 25, has lived in Mount Isa for the past four and half years and in that time has voted for the Katter's Australia Party (KAP) both state and federally.

"I think Robbie Katter is a really good advocate for the community, however, I do think he has kind of outdated viewpoints on certain issues," he said.

"It's not a certain policy but more so the talk about abortion recently, it's kind of changed my views on who I would normally vote for, especially out here."

Mr Katter plans to introduce a private member's bill in the next term of Queensland parliament to repeal abortion laws.

The law allows terminations on request up to 22 weeks' gestation.

After that point, two medical practitioners need to sign off on the procedure.

Although the abortion issue has dominated headlines, plenty of other issues are still weighing on the minds of young voters in Traegar.

What's bugging school kids of voting age?

With less than a week to go, first-time voter Jazmin Pritchard has relied on her parents and swiping through social media ads to find out what she needs before heading to the polling booth.

"Picking out a leader in our society stressed me out a little bit," the 18-year-old said.

"Youth crime and cost of living will have a bit of an impact.

"That will most likely influence my vote, I'm not too sure yet."

18-year-old Cooper Wyld-Hill admits he's not all that engaged in politics, which makes it tough to know how he'll vote.

"Crime is big here in Mount Isa, every second day you hear about a stolen car or something," he said.

"I know Robbie Katter, so I'm probably leaning towards him to be honest.

"I don't know much about his policies, but I like him as a bloke, I see him now and then."

Damarish Robin moved to the mining city from Papua New Guinea in 2012, the same year Mr Katter won his seat.

"Living in a rural area, education is really important to me, the lack of teachers makes it hard to do specialised subjects," she said.

But it's been the abortion topic that's prompted the most chatter in her friendship circle.

"I've seen the LNP dodging questions or just Katter's opinion is swaying me … so I'm considering the Labor Party, but still researching."

Weighing up the options

Lifelong Mount Isa resident Dannielle Haylan said while she believed Robbie Katter had done a lot of good for the community, his recent comments on abortion made her look into the other parties.

"I don't think that's something that we should see in this state. I think women have the right to make decisions about their body, especially a decision of that magnitude," Ms Haylan said.

"To have that right taken away from them would be degrading."

Mr Katter was indifferent when asked if he thought the discussion on reproductive rights had cost him votes in his electorate.

"I don't know, I don't really care," he said.

"If that offends people, I'm sorry but … I might be offended by their positions, but I get on with it and respect that other people have different points of view.

"That's the end of it for me."