Police say two teenagers have been recaptured after escaping overnight from a new youth boot camp at Kuranda, west of Cairns in far north Queensland.

Police say staff at the Kuranda facility operated by Safe Pathways were threatened with a knife last night by two teenagers serving court orders.

It is alleged a 13-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl demanded car keys and attempted to steal a car before absconding into the rainforest.

It is alleged the pair later robbed a 59-year-old woman in her home before being recaptured by police at Kuranda about 4:00am (AEST).

Queensland courts have had the power to sentence young offenders to boot camp orders instead of detention since the end of January.

Barron River MP Michael Trout says he is aware of the matter and attended a briefing with Cairns MP Gavin King earlier this morning.

A spokeswoman for Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie says the Minister cannot comment because the matter is still under investigation.

'Warning bells'

The Queensland Opposition wants a review of the Government's youth boot camps.

Labor MP Curtis Pitt says Mr Bleijie needs to explain what is being done to prevent more problems.

"He needs to tell people how the sole occupants of the boot camp managed to allegedly obtain a dangerous weapon and walk out the door into the wider community, where they've allegedly menaced nearby residents," he said.

Mr Pitt says trouble at the juvenile boot camp overnight is more evidence the Government has bungled the program and Mr Bleijie needs to take responsibility.

"There have been many suggestions that this has been a rushed process," Mr Pitt said.

"That should sound warning bells to a lot of people in terms of the way the LNP Government is handling youth justice issues.

"I think that given the boot camp has been in operation for only three weeks and the entire first intake has managed to escape, Mr Bleijie need to order a review."

Premier Campbell Newman says he is concerned that the incident occurred.

But he says it does not mean the Government's juvenile boot camp policy has failed.

"Not at all, what it does show though is a situation that is clearly unacceptable," he said.

"Myself and the Attorney-General will be receiving a report in the next 24 hours.

"We will be reviewing both security and the location."

Tablelands Mayor Rosa Lee Long says it is not a good start for the boot camp, which has only been operating for three weeks.

"There's only two people who reside in that residence at a time, so these would have been the first two is my understanding," she said.

"To escape so soon in the trial is quite amazing, so we can understand the concerns."

Residents angry

More than 100 residents in the tight-knit community met earlier this month to raise concerns about the facility.

Kuranda resident Natalie Newman says the 59-year-old woman called her about 1:30am and asked her to warn other residents.

"She just wanted to make sure that our house was locked up and our cars were secured and our wallets and bags and car keys were in the room with us," she said.

"She basically said her home was broken into. She said two youths - a male and a female - had threatened her with a pair of scissors. The offenders had stolen cash."

Kuranda resident Neil Carpenter says the facility, which services a large area of the far north, should never have been placed in a residential area.

"I would honestly like the whole thing to be stopped in place and the position of the camp reviewed," he said.

"I am aware of a number of other options that were considered by other tenderers, which seem to make a great deal more sense - one of which was using public facilities.

"I'm not altogether convinced I know why Safe Pathways purchased a house in the first place, given this is a two-year trial."

Mr Carpenter says the boot camp has inadequate security and it should be moved to a remote area.

"We were concerned that Kuranda, which is really rather a soft-centred area, with no 24-hour policing, would fall victim to this," he said.

"It would appear that that might be the case."

John Neller says he moved his family to Kuranda for a peaceful lifestyle that is now under threat.

"At the public meeting not so long ago, we were told that there wouldn't be any violent offenders here," he said.

"But it seems that two weeks into this, our local lovely resident neighbourhood has gone to this, so we're very concerned.

"We've got two children in the house."