Snap election poll for Australian state of Queensland

Embattled premier Campbell Newman who leads Queensland in Australia on Tuesday called an election two months earlier than expected.

The move caught everyone, including members of his own Liberal National party, by surprise, Seven News reported.

Newman swept to power in a landslide victory in 2012, but according to public opinion polls, has all but lost the support of voters after he introduced a range of unpopular cost cutting measures.

Former federal politician and one time strident anti-Asian immigration figure Pauline Hanson, who created the One Nation party, quickly said her recently announced decision to stand at the next Queensland election had forced Newman's hand.

She told Seven News she believed Newman called the election before she could get her campaign organized.

The election will either be held on Jan. 31, or early February.

The exact date will be announced after Newman formally meets with the state's governor to say an election is being called. Endi