Federal Nationals are distancing themselves from their Liberal partners after their poor Queensland election result, with one placing the blame squarely on Malcolm Turnbull's leadership.
The conservative vote split in regional seats in the state poll, with the impact of One Nation leaving the LNP primary vote only just ahead of Labor in many areas.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is confident Labor will retain government, although a final result could take days.
Federal MP George Christensen, from the north Queensland electorate of Dawson, on Sunday took the unusual step of apologising to people who voted for One Nation.
"I want to provide a sincere apology that, at this stage, no one else has: I'm sorry that we in the LNP have let you down," the Nationals MP wrote on Facebook.
The party had to listen more, work harder, stand up for conservative values and regional Queensland, and do better to win people's trust, he said.
"I think a lot of that starts with the Turnbull government, its leadership and its policy direction."
Cabinet minister Matt Canavan believes the Queensland result highlights the need for a strong Nationals Party at the federal level, separate from the Liberals and with its own campaign machinery.
"That is the clear message from last night: people in the regions want to have someone in their corner fighting for them," the Nationals senator told ABC TV.
Splitting the conservative vote with minor parties had made it harder for the LNP to win regional seats in Queensland and ultimately delivered power to Labor.
"For those that go to parties like One Nation, it is a cathartic experience, but it doesn't really deliver results."
One Nation may end up with a single seat, at best, but it has influenced the outcomes of a number of seats.
Labor Queensland senator Murray Watt says Mr Christensen's intervention means "Turnbull's leadership is terminal".
And Greens leader Richard Di Natale says the prime minister is in real trouble.
"I suspect there will be an early election if Malcolm Turnbull survives as leader of the Liberal Party - and we're ready for it," he told reporters in Melbourne.
But Mr Turnbull says it is too early to analyse what happened in Queensland, with votes still being counted, insisting the political chaos at the federal level wasn't a factor.
"(Australians) know the difference between a state election and a federal election, they know the difference between state and federal issues, and that was a state election fought on state issues by competing state leaders," he told reporters in Sydney.
Federal Labor leader Bill Shorten says Queensland voters reflected a national sentiment that had seen the Liberals and Nationals suffering from one end of Australia to the other as a result of the Turnbull government.
Former federal treasurer Wayne Swan says Labor's vote proved remarkably resilient and, if it extended federally, the party could pick up as many as eight extra seats.
At the moment, the coalition holds 21 of the 30 Queensland seats in federal parliament - including all the regional electorates, bar independent Bob Katter's Kennedy - and five of 12 senators.
Mr Swan was surprised by Labor's strength in "middle ground suburbs" and suggested coalition MPs like Immigration Minister Peter Dutton should be worried.
"Basically, middle ground voters have said the LNP pussy-footing around with One Nation is just unacceptable."
