NATIONALS Senate leader Barnaby Joyce will not be standing as a candidate in the northern Queensland seat of Herbert, following the resignation of its local federal member.

Liberal backbencher Peter Lindsay has announced he will not be standing in the marginal Townsville-based seat he has held since 1996.

Senator Joyce, who is open about his plans to one day contest a lower house seat, said he would not be a candidate for Herbert.

"That seat is earmarked for the Liberal Party," he said.

The Liberal Party is expected to call for nominations for the seat within the next week.

Queensland's Liberal and National parties merged in 2008 to become the Liberal National Party.

But under party rules, a successor in Mr Lindsay's seat would have to come from the Liberal Party.

"They nominate the seat as to where you sit in Canberra (parliament)," Senator Joyce said.

The seat of Herbert has become notionally Labor, with a minuscule margin of 0.4 per cent, following a redistribution.

It has gained areas of the neighbouring seat of Dawson, which Labor picked up off the coalition at the 2007 election.

"Since it heads out to the farmland, it's stronger conservative territory," Senator Joyce said.

The opposition's finance spokesman remains open about his ambition to shift to a lower house seat so he can become The Nationals leader.

"Anybody who says they don't want to lead their party doesn't think much of their party or isn't telling the truth," he said.

Senator Joyce's local Nationals MP Bruce Scott, 66, plans to stand again in his southern Queensland seat of Maranoa at the next election.