Coalition in disarray after election rout

A STRING of federal Liberal MPs — including Immigration Minister Peter Dutton — would lose their seats if voter discontent towards the party in Queensland is replicated at the next federal election.

The seven per cent swing against the Liberals and Nationals on Saturday has fed into growing unrest within the Federal Government, as angry Nationals blame the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s flagging popularity for the result.

As senators return to parliament to debate same-sex marriage today, there is speculation the Nationals could split with the Liberals in Queensland in a bid to counter a strong One Nation vote in regional centres.

Nationals MP George Christensen — presumed by many within the government as the anonymous MP vowing to quit the Coalition next week — publicly apologised to One Nation voters yesterday for letting them down.

But senior figures within the Government are warning against a move on Mr Turnbull to replace him with a more conservative figure — claiming more unrest will further hurt the MPs who are under threat from Labor.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk yesterday claimed she would win the 47 seats required for Labor to govern the state in its own right.

Mr Christensen, who has also threatened to cross the floor to help establish an inquiry into the banks, sent a direct message to voters in the state who deserted his party.

“We need to listen more, work harder, stand up more for conservative values and regional Queensland do better to win your trust and vote,” he wrote on social media.

“A lot of that rests with the Turnbull Government, its leadership and policy direction.”

Mr Turnbull moved to distance himself from the result yesterday, saying it was fought “overwhelmingly on state issues”.

“Australians are very smart in the way they go about voting. They know the difference between state and federal elections, they know the difference between state and federal issues, and that was a state election fought on state issues by competing state leaders,” he said.

Despite winning about 13 per cent of the statewide vote and up to 35 per cent in some region seats, One Nation is likely to claim only one seat.