As Labor looks likely to win the Queensland election, former conservative MPs are blaming in part the merger of Queensland's Liberal and National parties, and their favourable preferencing of One Nation.

Key points: One Nation averaged 21pc of the vote in seats where it fielded candidates

One Nation averaged 21pc of the vote in seats where it fielded candidates There were swings away from both major parties and towards One Nation

There were swings away from both major parties and towards One Nation LNP preferenced One Nation above Labor in over half of the electorates

The issue has permeated federal politics as well, with the Attorney-General and Prime Minister taking different positions on whether splitting the LNP in two would help the parties compete at the state level.

There were swings against both major parties, and towards One Nation — who averaged 21 per cent of the vote in the seats where it fielded candidates.

However, far from winning a predicted balance of power, the minor party may not win a seat.

Wildly disparate preferences are determining the outcome and ABC election analyst Antony Green said Labor may win about 47 seats to about 41 for the LNP, while the Katter Party and independents win two each, and One Nation could win one seat.

LNP leader Tim Nicholls has not yet conceded.

"It's now in the hands of the scrutineers. The votes have been cast and we just wait for them to be count and see what happens," he said.

While One Nation fell far short of winning a mooted balance of power, leader Pauline Hanson said the shift away from major parties and towards One Nation was a clear indication that the party was "not going anywhere".

"I'm very pleased with that result," Ms Hanson said.

History is just repeating itself: Rob Borbidge

The One Nation party helped to oust Nationals premier Rob Borbidge in 1998, and he angrily blamed the Coalition's defeat on its favourable preferencing of One Nation.

And Mr Borbidge said history was being repeated.

"The LNP just has to accept the fact that any association with One Nation is absolutely toxic, particularly in south-east Queensland," he said.

"It happened in 1998, it happened in 2001 and it happened on Saturday night.

"It is totally incomprehensible to me that in this day and age we go anywhere near One Nation.

"They directed preferences against every sitting LNP member, but for some reason we decided that One Nation should not be preferenced last."

The LNP preferenced One Nation above Labor in over half of the electorates, while Labor put the minor party last."

Mr Borbidge said Labor successfully tied the former Newman government treasurer and now LNP leader Mr Nicholls to unpopular policies of the former government.

"It looks very much as if the hurt of the Campbell Newman era continues and that the current leader of the Opposition and the parliamentary LNP have had to wear that and that has resulted in the loss of a number of seats," he said.

But the question of whether there has now been a two-election fallout from the Newman era is yet to be addressed by the party hierarchy.

Neither Mr Nicholls nor the LNP president or state director have agreed to interview requests.

But David Crisafulli, who was a minister in the Newman government, repeated the LNP's defence of its era of cost-cutting.

"I think the majority of people will say they liked a lot of what Campbell was trying to do, they just thought we moved a little too quickly," he told ABC Brisbane.

LNP needs 'a very honest discussion with itself'

Federal Attorney-General George Brandis urged the LNP to have "a very honest discussion with itself as to where non-Labor politics in Queensland goes from here".

Senator Brandis said he was not calling for the LNP to split "at the moment", but he noted the marked differences in political attitudes between Brisbane and the rest of the state.

He said One Nation received virtually half the conservative vote in parts of central and north Queensland, "in seats that used to be the absolute backbone of the old National party and the old Country party".

But he called it an unavoidable fact that in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, any link between the LNP and One Nation was "poison".

Meanwhile, former National Party member Vaughan Johnson, who represented the rural seat of Gregory for 26 years and originally supported the LNP marriage, has blamed the LNP's loss on the merging of the two parties.

"This is a wake-up call to that marriage — it's still too south-east corner orientated," he said.

"I say to the leadership of the party now, if you are going to keep paying lip service to us out here, the LNP will be doomed to destruction."

Vaughan Johnson represented the rural seat of Gregory for 26 years. ( ABC Western Queensland: Blythe Moore )

Mr Johnson said he was not calling for the two parties to split again, but instead for them to do more to recognise rural and regional Queensland.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull opposed suggestions of splitting the LNP, describing the merged entity as a "great success in Queensland".

"I don't think there is any initiative to change that," Mr Turnbull said.

He warned One Nation voters they were helping the Labor Party.

"I want to say to them: your votes for One Nation have assisted Anastacia Palaszczuk," Mr Turnbull said.

"When we come to the federal election we will be making that point very, very strongly."