If Tony Abbott was concerned about Labor's strong result in the latest opinion poll, he certainly didn't look it in western Sydney.
The Nielsen poll published in Monday's Fairfax newspapers shows the ALP's primary support up 10 percentage points to 39 per cent compared to the coalition on 44, down three.
The two-party preferred numbers put Labor at 50 per cent, with the opposition also on 50 - the first time in three years that Labor no longer trails the coalition on that metric.
Despite the downbeat data, Mr Abbott appeared relaxed on a visit to the special-needs Mater Dei school in Camden on Monday.
"This is a lovely school, a really lovely school doing an awesome job, sometimes with some challenging kids," Mr Abbott enthused after touring the college, which sits in the federal seat of Macarthur on the city's southwest fringe.
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Mr Abbott, accompanied by his wife Margie and local Liberal MP Russell Matheson, was at the Catholic-run institution to pledge $335,000 towards better heating for its pool if the coalition wins the election.
On the brief visit, Mr Abbott inspected the pool before playing with toys with a group of primary aged kids.
"It's been a real pleasure," a smiling Mr Abbott said as he shook hands with the kids before fronting the media.
Speaking to reporters in the school playground, Mr Abbott said he would "leave it to others" to analyse the polls.
"The Australian people I think are relieved to see the back of an unpopular prime minister," he said.
"The Australian people are always prepared to give others a fair go."
The Liberals won Macarthur at the 2010 election and hold it with a margin of three per cent.
