One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has apologised and admitted she was wrong for suggesting parents subject their children to a non-existent test for vaccine allergies.
Four days after linking vaccines with autism and likening the government's child vaccination programs to a "dictatorship", Senator Hanson ceded to expert advice and said sorry.
"I have heard a couple of doctors have said that there is no test," she told Channel Seven's Sunrise program on Thursday. "If that be the case, I am wrong. I do apologise.
"Vaccinations have controlled a lot of diseases. I admit that. As far as having tests done, I admit I was wrong with that."
The apology came as One Nation and other parties tried to shore up their positions in Western Australia amid the final countdown to the state election.
Premier Colin Barnett released his party's policy costings and said a re-elected Liberal government would reduce the state's bloated debt by $12 billion.
He accused opposition leader Mark McGowan of insufficient "love" for WA after Labor pledged to sell the naming rights to Perth Stadium in the same of budget repair.
Senator Hanson's state loyalties were also called into question after audio resurfaced in which she appeared to advocate stripping GST proceeds from Queensland to give to WA.
Asked in January if she would be prepared to fight for WA in its ongoing battle for a bigger share of GST revenue, even at the expense of her home state, Senator Hanson told 6PR radio: "Of course I will, no problem."
She has since claimed to have never advocated clipping Queensland's share of the GST, but argues the mix needs to be reassessed in favour of the west.
"I think they are hard done by," she told 2GB radio on Thursday. "I can understand where they're coming from. It needs to be looked at, make it more fair."
Polls and punters alike believe Labor is headed for victory on Saturday, as voters punish Mr Barnett's Liberals over ballooning debt and the end of the mining boom.
Senator Hanson's bid to entrench One Nation as a national political force has also taken a hit, amid internal squabbles and several candidates biting the dust.
The vaccination remarks, made during an ABC interview at the weekend, were another unwelcome distraction for the One Nation campaign.
She had urged parents to "have your tests first" to establish whether their children might react adversely to a vaccine.
Michael Gannon, president of the Australian Medical Association, told Sky News the next day: "There is no such test."
Senator Hanson's comments were also condemned by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Treasurer Scott Morrison, who called them "very ill-informed and very disappointing."
The Liberal Party's preference deal with One Nation has copped heavy criticism for legitimising the right-wing minor party and its policy platform.
Social Services Minister Christian Porter, a senior federal Liberal from WA, on Thursday described the arrangement as a "practical deal" and said sometimes "deals have to be done".
