Government MPs are criticising One Nation more and more since the WA election. Credit:Andrew Meares The wooing crossed over from the federal sphere into the states, culminating in a preference deal between the WA Liberals and One Nation, ending the John Howard edict that the party always be put last on how-to-vote cards. But her party finished the WA election with three seats, well below expectations, after a gaffe-filled campaign. And Coalition MPs suddenly found themselves freer to call out One Nation. The "ignore and contain" policy has fallen by the wayside. "It's not like an official edict has gone out," a senior government source said.

Pauline Hanson skipped estimates hearings in October and February, and has yet to appear at the latest round. Credit:Andrew Meares "But there is greater awareness since WA of the need to call some of this out. It's been mentioned in party room and talked about among MPs and I think you are seeing that, among a growing group, that they can be called out, like Labor, like anyone else, when they say something which we don't agree with." Expect to see more of it, another said. As long as it was "fair". "One Nation's momentum has been blunted. It's not declining in support, but it's not growing by those doomsday numbers. And that shows there is a conservative middle out there looking for someone to vote for," another source said. Another said: "Some people see some short term opportunity but most know that - long-term - we have to beat them, not be them."

Nationals' leader Barnaby Joyce has been seen by Coalition colleagues as leading the charge. The Deputy Prime Minister immediately dismissed as "bat poo crazy" Senator Hanson's comments last month comparing Islam to a disease Australians needed to vaccinate themselves against. "This kind of stuff does not help anybody," he said. "It was just stupid, it was plain dumb." More recently, he accused Senator Hanson of having a tantrum after the party threatened to block government bills, unless funding for the public broadcaster was slashed in the upcoming budget.

But it is not just the Nationals. Mr Turnbull has said Senator Hanson's push for a Muslim "ban", as the world reacted to last month's fatal attack on London, was playing into the terrorists' hands. Victorian MP Tim Wilson said Senator Hanson was talking "complete BS" when she called for a boycott of halal-certified Easter eggs, telling Sky News it was "becoming increasingly hard to take Pauline Hanson seriously when she comes up with rubbish policies and ideas every second day without any real consideration or consequences". The shift in attitude and escalation of language have been welcomed by some within the government, who previously said they felt frustrated at not being able to highlight differences. "WA has provided an opportunity to re-calibrate and reposition ourselves, without being fanatical," a government source said.

"It's given us some room." Follow us on Facebook