The Coalition is divided over a campaign launched by the Nationals to decentralise the public service and move federal agencies out of Canberra.

The Nationals launched a campaign called Get Out Of The City yesterday, encouraging regional areas to lobby for public service departments to be relocated to their cities and towns.

Liberal senator for the ACT Zed Seselja criticised the Nationals over the campaign.

"Obviously this is a fair bit of parochialism from the Nats and I reject it," he said.

"I don't think it's any way to run the public service, just on the basis of calls from any political party.

"People are entitled to their parochialism but so am I, and my view is that we should see these agencies staying in Canberra."

Zed Seselja argues moving public servants out of Canberra is narrow-minded thinking. ( ABC News Breakfast )

But Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce told RN that decentralisation was the best course of action for regional areas.

"I think that the largesse of our nation, the taxpayers' money, your listeners' money, deserves to be spent on a whole range of areas," he said.

"Canberra's a wonderful town, but it now has 380,000 people, or close to 380,000 people.

"We believe in allowing the largesse of the nation to develop our nation over a wider form, it's a vision for our nation."

ACT Labor and Liberals united in opposition

The matter has been brought to a head by the Government's controversial move of the Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) from Canberra to Armidale, which has seen some senior bureaucrats working from a local McDonalds.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr dismissed concerns that a scenario similar to the APVMA move could happen with another federal agency.

"I don't think anyone really takes this campaign seriously, given the practical case study of the shifting of the APVMA to Armidale, and what a disaster that has been," he said.

"Canberra was established as the headquarters of the nation's public administration, and there are advantages of having those areas of Australian government co-located here."

Mr Barr's sentiments were echoed by ACT's Liberal Leader of the Opposition, Alistair Coe.

"I can understand Barnaby fighting for his electorate, but in turn I'm going to be fighting for mine," he said.

"We believe the public service belongs in the national capital, and we will fight any proposal to relocate any jobs out of the ACT."