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LNP tight-lipped on One Nation deals

Queensland LNP leader Tim Nicholls is remaining tight-lipped on any preference deal with One Nation following reports his party is internally divided.

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Source: AAP


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Queensland Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls is not declaring the Liberal National Party's hand regarding One Nation preference deals, passing responsibility for the decision to the party executive.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who has pledged to preference Pauline Hanson's party last, won't say if Labor will urge its powerful union allies to issue the same instructions.

But she challenged Mr Nicholls to show leadership and declare his intentions.

"What I have said consistently is that it is a decision for the state executive of the LNP," Mr Nicholls said on Tuesday.

"What we have to do is deal with the concerns of people who voted for One Nation."

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Mr Nicholls cited regional employment, infrastructure investment and safety and security among those concerns.

But he said in the rural southern Queensland state seat of Lockyer, where Ms Hanson suffered a narrow loss to the LNP last year, 60 per cent of Labor voters placed their preferences with One Nation.

The government could dispose of the speculation immediately by reverting to the optional preferential voting system, which was switched to full preferential voting on little notice earlier this year, Mr Nicholls said.

He wouldn't say how far out from the next election, due by early 2018, voters could expect to hear his position.

Asked whether his party was divided on how to deal with the looming One Nation threat, Mr Nicholls said the LNP was united in "wanting to see the end of a bad Labor government".

Ms Palaszcuk urged voters to be "very cautious" about the rhetoric from One Nation.

"The issue with One Nation is that they can't deliver anything because they are not a party that is in government," she said.

"At the end of the day I would like the people of Queensland to judge my government on our record."

While Mr Nicholls has repeatedly handballed the spiky issue to his executive, LNP president Gary Spence last month appeared to have his mind made up.

Mr Spence said the LNP would not be "getting into bed with One Nation", but then said the "overwhelming majority" of branches and members would agree that Labor and the Greens should be preferenced last.


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