The Liberal Party's catastrophic performance in the West Australian election has triggered about of recriminations over its controversial preference deal with Pauline Hanson's One Nation.
One Nation was polling strongly in the lead up to the election but gave a lacklustre performance on election night, capturing under 5 per cent of the primary vote.
The Nationals Leader Barnaby Joyce took aim at the preference agreement when it was first revealed — and this morning he said the deal "was a mistake".
He said One Nation had "a bit of a shocker" in the election, and the Liberal Party had over-estimated popular support for the anti-immigration party.
"All the imbroglio regarding preferences means people start to over-assess and exaggerate what they think the support is of their new partner, and they confuse their constituency," Mr Joyce said.
