Few things provoke more moral and emotional angst in Queensland politics than the royalty riches that boost the budget bottom line.

A high-stakes polemic rages around coal — relying on it will ruin the planet, but shunning it will wreck the state's economy.

Which goes a long way to explain the eyebrows raised by Treasurer Jackie Trad's budget speech and Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington's budget reply this week.

Coal royalties are $600 million higher than expected in the current financial year, and will be a $1 billion higher next year, according to the budget papers.

"A record contribution," trumpeted the Queensland Resources Council.

But when Ms Trad delivered her first budget in Parliament, it didn't rate a mention — feeding the perception that the left-leaning Treasurer feels conflicted about taking "dirty coal money" to build the roads and schools that Queensland needs.

"Coal is a love that dare not speak its name for the Queensland Government," according to Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan, borrowing from a 19th century poem by Lord Alfred Douglas.

On the other hand, his LNP colleague Ms Frecklington did dare to speak the name, albeit not quite in the way Senator Canavan might have liked.

"I promise Queenslanders that the LNP will plan for a future beyond coal," she said, referring to her plan to require government-owned energy companies to invest in renewable generation.

Coal is "a love that dare not speak its name for the Queensland Government", Senator Canavan said. ( Supplied: Lock The Gate )

Senator Canavan said the Turnbull Government did not believe in "force-feeding a particular type of power" into the grid.

"Whenever a state government tries to intervene and distort the market, it doesn't end well," Senator Canavan told The Australian.

But it was "hooray for that" to Ms Frecklington from GetUp! — a rare moment of praise for the LNP from the leftist activist group.

On the other side of the aisle, an excited Labor tried to suggest Ms Frecklington had experienced a Road to Damascus epiphany, ignoring the fact that the State Opposition has repeatedly backed a national target for renewable energy.

Then the Government's own plan to create a stand-alone renewable energy government-owned corporation called CleanCo ran into strife when the Electrical Trades Union loudly announced it was pulling out of consultations, describing the process as hollow, tokenistic and a sham.

The politics of coal versus renewables is proving to be an open-cut minefield for all sides.