Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd says Campbell Newman has no hope of running Queensland if he cannot manage his own diary.
Mr Newman was a no-show at a union event attended by other candidates in the Brisbane electorate of Ashgrove, which he must win.
His office initially said he was given the wrong date for Friday's event. However, a union said he confused two separate events at different locations days apart.
His office later said Mr Newman had prior engagements.
Ashgrove's Labor MP Kate Jones, Greens candidate Sandra Bayley and Katter's Australian Party candidate Norman Wicks all attended Friday's event to sign a Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) charter on protecting the rights and entitlements of Queensland workers.
QCU president John Battams said he was concerned by Mr Newman's no show and feared thousands of public-sector jobs would be lost if the LNP won the March 24 election.
"We'd like to see an iron-clad guarantee he is not going to shed jobs in the public sector," Mr Battams told AAP.
"At the moment he's been unwilling to meet with representatives of the union movement. The fact he hasn't turned up means he is unwilling to answer specific questions about what he will do if he comes to government."
Mr Newman's office said Mr Battams had run two previous campaigns for Ms Jones.
"Given his links to the Ashgrove Labor campaign, it was no surprise that Mr Battams would attack Mr Newman," a spokeswoman for the LNP leader said.
"Since becoming LNP Leader, Mr Newman has met with a range of unions including the Queensland Teachers Union, the Police Union, the Together Union and the Builders Labourers Federation."
She said there was no record of Mr Newman being invited to Friday's QCU event but the QCU has sent AAP an invitation, emailed to the LNP leader on Tuesday, inviting him to attend.
"All candidates were there except for Campbell Newman," Mr Rudd told reporters in Brisbane.
"His excuse, he got his diary entry wrong. If you can't manage your diary, how on earth are you going to manage your state?"
Mr Rudd also said Mr Newman must open up about his family's business dealings after it was reported that a company headed by his brother-in-law Seb Monsour was under review by the FBI for a possible breach of US trade-secret laws.
Premier Anna Bligh this week referenced the reports when she used parliamentary privilege to suggest Mr Newman may end up behind bars over his family's business interests.
She has refused to apologise for her comments, and Mr Newman said it smacked of desperation to cling to power.
Mr Rudd was asked on Friday if Ms Bligh had gone too far under parliamentary privilege.
He said he had not read parliamentary transcripts and had been busy with dealing with foreign affairs matters.
"But ... Campbell Newman must front the media and answer all questions like all of us have to do all the time," Mr Rudd said.
"The LNP strategy with Mr Newman for a long period or time is to open a shoe box, put Campbell in it, put the lid back on and hope nobody notices he is there all the way through to election day.
"It doesn't actually work that way. If you want to be the Premier of Queensland you have to front."
Fresh comment was being sought from Mr Newman.
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