A federal MP says Queensland councils have lodged questionable and potentially fraudulent claims for natural disaster funding.

Federal Member for Capricornia Michelle Landry says there have been at least $115 million worth of unlawful claims for reimbursement from the Natural Disaster Recovery (NDRRA).

“One council claimed they lost four fire trucks in a bushfire and made a natural disaster funding claim for them,” Landry told reporters this week.

“The truth was that only two fire trucks were damaged. The other two never existed in the first place.

“This is a clear example of why each claim must now be thoroughly checked off by both the Queensland and Commonwealth Auditor Generals.

"It borders on dishonesty and potential fraud," she said.

The Queensland Government wants the Federal Government to pay the money it pledged after Tropical Cyclone Marcia.

“Taxpayers should quite rightly expect that questionable claims be properly investigated before being paid out,” Ms Landry said.

“The Natural Disaster Recovery (NDRRA) money is still budgeted for; we have placed the funds over the next two financial years to ensure the funds are still available to Queensland - but we need to ensure the claims are eligible before they can be reimbursed.”

The Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) says Ms Landry’s claims are erroneous, insulting and desperate.

“The example Michelle Landry used did not even occur in Queensland,” LGAQ president Margaret de Wit said.

“There is no record of any Queensland council making a claim for a single fire truck, let alone four, for at least the past five years.

“About $115 million worth of claims were deemed ineligible not unlawful, as Ms Landry claims, and these ineligible costs were identified by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA), not the Federal Auditor General.”

Mrs de Wit said Ms Landry needed to apologise to Queensland councils.

“While she was making cheap, ill-informed remarks about local governments, council workers across Queensland were cleaning up after destructive storms over the weekend – as part of normal business for council and without any federal financial assistance as is always the case up to the NDRRA trigger point,” Mrs de Wit said.

“Councils are at the frontline of natural disasters and the first to respond in the aftermath of cyclones, severe storms and floods and help their communities recover.

“Sadly, Queensland councils are so used to disasters that it is second nature to respond swiftly. They don’t sit around thinking about who is picking up the tab for recovery works. They just get on with the job of cleaning up – this is what our communities expect.

“In return they expect the Federal Government to meet its funding obligations in a timely manner, not use unsubstantiated accusations to delay payment.”