Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten are preparing to face off in a critical debate as the latest Newspoll shows the Coalition is gaining ground.
The Newspoll, published by The Australian on Sunday night, puts the government only one percentage point behind the Opposition on a two-party preferred basis after a strong start to the five-week campaign.
Mr Morrison goes into the debate with the momentum behind him with many attributing the improvement in the polls to his energetic performance on the campaign trail.
Mr Morrison has honed his attack on the Opposition, zeroing in on Labor's tax plans and targeting Bill Shorten as a "cranky bear".
But, the Coalition's primary vote has dropped one point to 38 per cent, while Labor's is down to 37 per cent.
