As government MPs held crisis talks ahead of an election that may be weeks off, the Sydney Morning Herald poll revealed the scale of the threat from the Hanson juggernaut after its stunning performance in the Queensland state election.

The Herald poll showed support for Prime Minister John Howard's coalition down from 47 per cent when he won the March 1996 election to 34 per cent last week, with Conservative voters defecting to One Nation in record numbers.

The poll, of 2,075 voters in all states, showed the coalition, which won office in a landslide two years ago, would have been swept from office in a Labor landslide if an election had been held last week.

However, while the polls tip Labor, its leader Kim Beazley has acknowledged he could lose his own seat of Brand in WesternAustralia where he has a wafer thin majority and polls show even stronger support for One Nation.

The Herald poll was the third in a week to show support still soaring for the far-right ultra-nationalist party founded by the former fish and chip shop owner turned independent MP in the federal parliament.

It showed support for One Nation up from seven per cent to 12 per cent in a month as support for the Liberal-National coalition dived by the same margin and support for the federal Labor Opposition rose one point to 42.

``In a disturbing finding for the government, the poll suggests One Nation can build in that support in the run-up to the federal election,'' the Herald said.

Government MPs were meeting on Tuesday for the first time since the Queensland rout, with Howard still refusing to rule out a snap double dissolution election over the senate's rejection of his native landrights Bill.

A spokesman for Howard said a compromise plan put to him Monday by independent Senator Brian Harradine aimed atavoiding an early election over the land rights bill did not go far enough.

Some National MPs said with One Nation breathing down their necks, policies on tax and the sale of telecommunications giant Telstra, which is also opposed by One Nation, must be modified.

Primary Industries Minister and deputy National leader John Anderson said the government parties had received a strong message from rural Queensland voters regarding key issues ``and we will ignore that at our peril''.

As the coalition stepped up its campaign against One Nation, Treasurer Peter Costello the government had to spell out to voters what it would mean.

``The last thing you'd ever want is for One Nation to be in position to influence policy: social division, economic disaster, a position where our futures would be directly threatened,'' he said.

With One Nation's populist mix of Opposition to immigration, aboriginal funding and globalisation and support for old-style protectionism, it has grabbed 24 per cent of the Queenslandvote and 11 seats from the coalition parties.