Liberals tipped to win federal by-election

The Liberal-National candidate has three rivals with Labor, the Liberal Democrats and Sustainable Australia contesting Saturday's poll.

While jobs and the economy have been the focus of his campaign, Mr Hamilton has written columns for conservative outlet The Spectator throughout the year.

In July, the Toowoomba-based engineer said letting China have its way on human rights abuses would discard western values.

"To submit, to bend, to bow before a culture that knows only that might is right would be to turn our backs on millennia of struggles against such barbarism," he wrote.

He argued Australia should remain among the "happy few" contributors to western civilisation and predicted further confrontation with China was inevitable.

Mr Hamilton denied claims the southern Queensland electorate had missed out on funding because it's a safe Liberal seat.

"That's more a matter of what Labor has been saying. It's certainly not what I've been hearing," he said on Friday.

"Overwhelmingly people are talking about the recovery after 2020."

The Groom by-election was triggered by the resignation of former minister John McVeigh, who was first elected in 2016.

At the federal election, Dr McVeigh increased the LNP margin to 20.5 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.

Mr Hamilton worked on water infrastructure projects in the Middle East and public transport in London before returning home to Queensland.

In his candidate booklet he outlined overhauling environmental laws to pave the way for major project approvals as a priority.

The father of three also wants to see industrial relations reform and tax changes to make it easier to employ young people and split income for couples raising families.

Despite the odds being stacked in his favour, Mr Hamilton stuck to the script for candidates on the cusp of victory.

"This is a by-election and every election is quite tough. I'm certainly not taking any vote for granted," he said.

Australian Associated Press