LNP leader Tim Nicholls keeps One Nation deal on the table

On the day it emerged the West Australian Liberal Party would preference One Nation in next month's WA state election – even at the expense of its Coalition partner, the Nationals – Mr Nicholls said it would ultimately be a matter for the LNP state executive.

The WA Liberals' decision has strained relations with the Nationals in the west, but such a schism was unlikely in Queensland, since the Liberal-National state merger in 2008.

But that would not prevent some backlash from LNP Liberals, particularly in the south-east corner, who could face soft, small-l liberal voters' dissatisfaction with any One Nation deals.

Mr Nicholls, who refused on Sunday to engage with the prospect of an LNP government dependent on One Nation support on the crossbench, said the question of preferences would not be a matter for him.

"When it comes to the preferences, the decision will be made by the state executive on the basis of advice they receive from local members and candidates," he said.

"That's the position it has been all that time and that's the position it will be."

Mr Nicholls must be keenly aware of the threat of One Nation, with a News Corp-commissioned Galaxy poll showing the far-right party had gone from a 0.92 per cent base at the 2015 election to 23 per cent.

The LNP leader has also seen his party's parliamentary stocks decrease by one, with Buderim MP Steve Dickson's defection to One Nation confirmed last month.

Mr Nicholls said any decision made at this stage would be "premature", but repeatedly refused to say whether he thought preferencing One Nation would be a good strategy for the LNP.

"The first thing we need to know is when will the election be held?" he said.

"That's the first thing and then all parties that are going to run, so let's have a look at it when the time comes, but that's time's not now."

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, whose Labor Party has already ruled out an unlikely deal with One Nation, said she understood the re-emergence of the Pauline Hanson-led party.

"There is a group of people, a group of families, out there that I understand are doing it tough and it is my job and my government's job to make sure that we have job-generating project to give those people, those families, hope and opportunity," she said.

"That is why measures such as ripping up the trading hours that have stood for 20 years and making sure that we can make it easier, we can make it simpler, and we can make sure that it creates jobs."

Neither Ms Palaszczuk or Mr Nicholls would comment on the prospect of One Nation holding the balance of power in the Queensland Parliament, with both leaders saying they did not deal in hypothetical situations.

But Ms Palaszczuk said she was confident she understood Queenslanders through her "extensive" travel across the state.

"I have been out there listening, but there's one thing I want to say to the people of Queensland and that is not only am I listening, but my government is also delivering," she said.

"Let's look at this example of trading hours.

"We know that the people in the regions are doing it tough and that is why I am out there constantly talking to the people in the regions, listening to the people in the regions and making sure that we deliver programs and projects that can create jobs."

The Premier said she was confident of her government's record heading into the state election, which could be called any time in the next 10 months.

"What my government did is we stopped the sale of assets and I know how many Queenslanders were very concerned about that issue," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"I also said that we would restore front-line services and we are doing that. We are focused on families, making sure that they have education and that they have health right across the state.

"We are going to continue to do that and by doing the shake-up of trading hours, we are focused on doing everything we can to create thousands of jobs in this state."