Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has announced an independent committee will be set up to deal with State MP's salaries, after outrage over a planned 42 per cent increase to politicians' pay.

Mr Newman is reportedly in damage control mode after his State MPs pushed for a big bonus from next year, blaming the previous Government for linking state and federal MP salaries. The plan would see MPs get an extra $57,000 a year, ministers an extra $90,000, while Mr Newman's pay would rise by $117,000.

The push for a pay-rise could not have come at a worse time in the eyes of many Queenslanders; the state's unemployment rate has risen to the second highest in the country after the sacking of 14,000 public sector workers by the year-old Newman Government.

As part of a “line in the sand” the Premier has drawn, an independent remuneration tribunal is to be established, led by three prominent Queenslanders; the vice chancellor of Bond University, Tim Brailsford, former AMWU secretary David Harrison, and Multicap chief executive Joanne Jessop.

Newman says the tribunal will be tasked with carrying out out a full review of MPs' salaries, with the goal of breaking the link between the salaries of state and federal politicians.

But he would not say whether he thought state politicians should be paid as much as federal politicians.

"I'm making no call on that. Indeed, I'm just not going to get into the issue of what we should be paid," Newman said, “I note that both the Opposition and the KAP [Katter's Australian Party] have publicly supported the creation of an independent tribunal to determine the future entitlements of Queensland's Parliamentarians.”

If the independent tribunal finds MP's are being overpaid, the money will be taken back from them.