The book has a loose structure already and will cover the period when Mr Newman first became interested in running as Brisbane's lord mayor through to his future plans, Mr King said. "The main focus is Campbell's 13 years in politics, so really starting from around 2002 when the idea came to run for lord mayor," he said. "And it was really sparked in 1999 when he was at his father's funeral." Mr Newman's father served in five portfolios in successive federal Liberal Party governments from 1975 to 1983, while his mother Jocelyn is a former Australian senator and a Howard Government minister for family and community services from 1998 to 2001. "So he had a bit of an epiphany at his father's funeral in 1999," he said.

"Campbell has served in [the] Army – as everyone knows - and had gone into the private sector [Grainco] and I think his father's funeral was a bit of a catalyst to serve in a different way – and that was in public office." He said the book would reflect on the impact Kevin Newman and Jocelyn Newman had on their son's life, but would centre on the former Queensland premier's 13-year political career. Mr King said he would interview former prime minister John Howard about the Newman family in general and Campbell Newman specifically for observations. "So John Howard is a fairly central character and family friend and I will absolutely be having a chat with him," he said. Mr King has already started to look through the former Queensland premier's boxes of political memorabilia.

"Some of the political memorabilia stretches across five decades of political life – his dad first entered politics in 1975, so it stretches from 1975 to 2015 across two generations," he said. "Everyone from John Howard to Clive Palmer to Alan Jones to Malcolm Fraser." Now there will be a few stories in that section; the evolution of the LNP, the beginning of the Palmer United Party, discussions over political donations, rail lines from coal fields, use of Queensland ports. Mr King insists the book would not attempt to praise Campbell Newman in the wake of the dismal 2015 state election for the LNP where the "Can Do" brand hurt the LNP. "One of the agreements to take on the project would be that it would be a 'warts and all' look," Mr King said.

"And certainly Campbell has already been very frank and very open about a range of issues. "So I'm really pumped. "It is just an amazing political story." Mr King said publishers were already interested and he hoped to have the book ready for Christmas. "The reason why they are interested is because it is more than just a Campbell Newman, or a Brisbane or Queensland story," he said.

"There are a lot of insights there for political watchers right across the country." At one stage when Brisbane's lord mayor, Mr Newman was the LNP's most senior leader when Labor held office federally and across every Australian state. Mr King said Mr Newman's decision to switch from local government – where he was very popular – to state politics would be one of the key focuses of the boo. "That water fight at the time was really a crucial element in him making that decision," Mr King said. When in charge at City Hall Mr Newman was critical of the then-Labor Government's plans to restructure council's water services, often leading the attack on the plans.

Mr King was editor-at-large at the Cairns Post before entering state politics in October 2011, when the LNP dumped its Cairns candidate Paul Freebody after he suggested Julia Gillard "follows the history" of assassinated US president John F.Kennedy. Mr King said one thing he learned as a politician and as a journalist was that journalists really only ever captured "half or three-quarters" of a story. "Because you are inevitably 'on the outside', you really only ever get one-quarter, or half, or three quarters of the story," he said. "Being able to bring that first-hand intimate experience, but see it through the prism of journalism, really is a unique experience." Earlier:

Former Queensland premier Campbell Newman is planning on writing a book about his time in office. Mr Newman says the book will give an insight into his 13-year stint as mayor of Brisbane and premier of the state, The Courier-Mail reports. Mr Newman, who was voted out along with his government when Queenslanders went to the polls last month, says the book will set the record straight on a number of issues. He will write the book with the help of Gavin King, a former journalist-turned-politician who lost the seat of Cairns for the Liberal National Party at the recent election. With AAP