James Ashby raised his controversial proposal for One Nation to profit from the Queensland election many times, according to a former party official, despite leader Pauline Hanson's claim it was immediately killed off.

Ms Hanson said her chief-of-staff's suggestion the party could profit at the upcoming Queensland election by charging candidates to cover half the cost of campaign expenses was swiftly shut down.

"We knocked it on the head at the meeting," she told reporters in Perth on Monday.

"It didn't go ahead. It was an issue that was raised and it was knocked on the head there and then."

In a secret recording of a party meeting from the first half of last year obtained by the Courier-Mail, Mr Ashby is heard suggesting the party could "make some money" at the upcoming Queensland poll by charging candidates to cover half the cost of campaign expenses.

He said they could charge candidates $11 for the campaign posters which cost the party $6 to make.

"We say to the candidates, we will fund 50 per cent of this [printing] package, so the package might be $5,000 -- you're going to pay $2,500 and we'll pay the other $2,500 of the $5,000," he said.

"The other $2500 is the profit."

Asked to explain, he replies: "Because when you lodge the receipt at the full price with the Electoral Commission of Queensland you get back the full amount that's been issued to you as an invoice."

He was also heard to say "I will deny I ever said this."

He has since said he regrets his choice of words but described the conversation as a brainstorming session.

Ms Hanson pinned the blame for the leak on former One Nation Queensland director Ian Nelson and her former personal assistant, Saraya Beric, who have both left the party.

Mr Nelson said neither he nor Ms Beric were behind the leak and contradicted Ms Hanson's claims Mr Ashby's idea had been rejected.

He said he had attended multiple meetings during which Mr Ashby had been unopposed by Ms Hanson and other party officials when he made the suggestion.

"He's said it on many occasions," Mr Nelson told AAP.

"I'm not sure whether that meeting was the one that was actually recorded but he said it on many occasions and since then all the people that stood up to him have gone.

"Nobody killed it off."

Mr Ashby denied Mr Nelson's claim his suggestion had been unopposed by Ms Hanson.

"They're completely false allegations by a disgruntled Ian Nelson," he said in a text message.

Queensland Labor Senator Murray Watt on Monday referred the recording to the Australian Federal Police, Queensland police commissioner and the Queensland electoral commissioner.

In letters to each, Mr Watt urged an investigation into whether Ms Hanson, Mr Ashby and their party had breached funding requirements.

"If these series of allegations are correct, they suggest a pattern of behaviour by Senator Hanson and PHON's senior officials and a belief that they do not need to comply with Australian laws, in a manner expected of all other political parties," he wrote.

Mr Ashby has also said One Nation will lodge a complaint with police over the secret recording, which he says was illegal.