A Government backbencher is rejecting the idea of any Syrian refugees being resettled in his electorate.

LNP member George Christensen's electorate is based around the central Queensland city of Mackay, whose economy has been damaged by a decline in the coal industry.

"I have some reluctance to say that we would accept any refugees in the Mackay region at the moment with the downturn in the economy," he told the ABC.

The outspoken backbencher said he had spoken with Prime Minister Tony Abbott of his concerns about the process of resettling 12,000 Syrian refugees.

"I am thoroughly assured by the Prime Minister that this is going to be done with consideration of economic impacts in mind and also security impacts in mind," he said.

In an interview with AM, Mr Christensen reiterated his concerns that refugees could take jobs otherwise done by "locals".

Predicting that most of those accepted in Australia would be of the Christian faith, Mr Christensen added that he hoped one day Syria was safe enough for Christians to return to the Middle East.

"It would be a shame to see Christians who have been in the area now for the better part of 2,000 years wiped off the map," he said.

"The Christians have been there longer than the Muslims and they have been a vibrant and important part of the Middle East."

The first refugees who have fled war-torn parts of the Middle East are likely to arrive by Christmas, under the $700 million plan announced on Tuesday.

The Government has begun working with service providers and religious groups to begin the process of resettlement across the Australian community.