A senior federal minister has declared that One Nation has evolved over the past 20 years, so much so that his party will direct votes to Pauline Hansen’s candidates instead of their own Coalition partners, who could lose upper house seats as a result.

“The One Nation of today is a very different beast to what it was 20 years ago,” Industry, Innovation and Science Minister Arthur Sinodinos told ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.

“They are a lot more sophisticated, they have clearly resonated with a lot of people.”

Asked whether she was being hypocritical by now siding with the Liberal Party despite her history, Senator Hanson told Channel Seven on Monday morning: “It’s about getting on and moving on and doing what’s right for the people in this country.”

 The move comes after new polling published on the weekend showed support for One Nation surging in Queensland.

The Galaxy poll, published by News Corp, showed One Nation is now more popular with Queenslanders than when it won 11 seats at the 1998 state election.

One Nation’s support jumped from 16 per cent to 23 per cent in three months, while the popularity of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls fell.

Federal cabinet minister Steve Ciobo has flagged further coalition preference deals with One Nation ahead of the Queensland state election.

Polling shows One Nation winning up to 23 per cent of the primary vote in the Sunshine State, taking voters from both the LNP and Labor.

“That’s a fair swag of voters … we can’t be dismissive of that,” Mr Ciobo told ABC radio.

West Australia Premier Colin Barnett defended the decision on Sunday, arguing it was a matter of political necessity.

“It is unusual, but it is a practical, pragmatic decision by the Liberal Party,” he told reporters.

“What we’re out to do is to retain government and there’s no doubt, in the … lower house, if One Nation preferences flow to the Liberal Party that will give a buffer in some of our seats under challenge.”

Politics over principle

Senator Sinodinos was chief of staff to John Howard in 2001 when the then-prime minister declared the Liberals would always put One Nation last.

Now the WA Liberals’ preference deal with Ms Hanson for the March 11 state election will put her party above the Nationals in upper house country regions.

In return for the deal, the Liberals expect One Nation to preference them above Labor in lower house seats, the Sunday Times reported.

The deal is designed to stem the bleeding in the lower house, as polls show Mr Barnett will struggle to win a third term.

A Liberal source told the newspaper their party had learnt a lesson in the 2001 WA election, when it lost government after putting One Nation last on its ballot papers.

Nationals fury

The Nationals, however, are incensed by the deal which could lead to One Nation holding the balance of power in the upper house.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and a string of federal Nationals MPs have warned the agreement could cost them power in the state election.

“It’s a statement of fact that the most successful governments in Australia are Liberal-National Governments and however that bond is formed it works well. When you step away from that, there’s one thing you can absolutely be assured of, you’re going to be in opposition,” Mr Joyce said Monday.

“This is a disappointing move. I hope the architects of it clearly understand the ramifications of the decision that they’re a party to.”

Senator Sinodinos said preference decisions had to be made according to local circumstances and One Nation “has evolved”.

Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos. Photo: AAP

At the federal level the Coalition has to deal with Ms Hanson in the Senate, where One Nation holds a crucial three crossbench seats and may regain a fourth once WA representative Rod Culleton is replaced.

But the federal Liberals were focused on winning voters back, Senator Sinodinos said.

“There are a lot of people out there who at the moment are just mad as hell, as it were, and it’s going to take some time for policies, I think, to seep through to them and convince them that the way of One Nation is not the way to go.”

One Nation refusal

High-profile WA One Nation candidate Margaret Dodd, meanwhile, has said she will refuse to preference the Liberal Party regardless of the deal.

Ms Dodd, who is contesting the Liberal-held seat of Scarborough for One Nation and is the mother of murdered teenager Hayley Dodd, condemned the decision on Monday.

Speaking outside a Perth court where her daughter’s alleged murderer, Francis Wark, is appearing today, Ms Dodd said she had “not been informed of any [preference] deal whatsoever, and I’m sure all the candidates haven’t”.

“I will make my own choices on who I will give my preferences to, and it certainly will not be the Liberal party,” she said.

“The Liberal party will be at the bottom on the how to vote card.”