The comments drew immediate repudiation from Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, who said the families of Australians killed on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 shot down over Ukraine wanted justice, not praise for Mr Putin from politicians.

US President Donald Trump attracted criticism on Sunday for saying he had respect for his Russian counterpart and wanted a constructive relationship, despite agreeing the former KGB official had killed people.

Asked about Mr Putin on Channel 9, Senator Hanson praised the Russian President as a man "standing up for his nation".

"I've got no problems with Vladimir," she said.

"I think the whole fact is – and I'm hearing from other people – Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are strong leaders. You may not agree with what they do, but they are prepared to make a decision and they have the country's best interests at heart.

"That's what people want from leaders here in this nation."

She slammed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Mr Shorten for their lack of vision and clear direction, saying Australians were fed up with the major parties.

"That's why they are fed up with both of them, that they want someone else to speak up, you know, maybe like Donald Trump.

"You don't always agree with what they say, but the whole fact is, they are prepared to actually show some leadership."

A Newspoll on Monday showed the government trailing Labor 46 to 54 per cent in two-party terms, with One Nation recording a national primary vote of 8 per cent.

Mr Shorten condemned the comments.

He wrote on Facebook: "38 Australians died when MH17 was shot down. Still no justice for their families – we need to know the truth about what happened.

"There is nothing strong about Putin's actions – he does not deserve praise from any Australian."

Senator Hanson told Sunrise on Channel 7 on Monday she was thrilled with the strong performance of One Nation and even speculated that one day she could be Prime Minister.

"To be PM, what an honour that would be. It is a privilege to be the leader of the nation. But it is a tough position and I can understand that you can't please everyone all the time," she said.

"My job now is to represent the people of Queensland and to build the party. Maybe one day, let down the track, in 15 or 20 years time, who knows what will happen."

Fellow crossbench senator Derryn Hinch responded that the One Nation leader wasn't likely to become prime minister, nor would her party even form the parliamentary opposition.

"She is dedicated to what she is doing, but she will not form the opposition or the government. That is the fact," he said.

Asked if Mr Putin was "a killer" in an interview with Fox News to be broadcast on Monday Australian time, Mr Trump suggested the US had killed people as well.

"There are a lot of killers," he said. "We've got a lot of killers. What, do you think our country's so innocent?"

Extra-judicial killings have been reported in Russia, including the murders of at least 23 journalists since Mr Putin became president.

Mr Putin's administration has also been linked to a series of violent and unexplained deaths, including former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya and opposition politician Boris Nemtsov.

A British investigation found Mr Litvineko's poisoning with deadly polonium-210 in London was likely approved directly by Mr Putin.

Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne played down the poor poll results for the government.

"Obviously there isn't an election for two-and-a-half years in Australia and whether the polls go up or down in February 2017, when an election is not due until mid-2019 is really neither here nor there," he said.

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