The Morrison government has hit a new low of 50 consecutive Newspoll losses after a series of high-profile cabinet retirements.
Labor extended its lead over the Coalition in the latest Newspoll, despite Prime Minister Scott Morrison's sustained attack on the Opposition's border security credentials, including a controversial visit to the re-opened Christmas Island detention centre on Wednesday.
While Morrison remains preferred leader over Bill Shorten, Labor is up one point to lead 54 to 46 - a swing that, if uniform, would cost the Coalition 18 seats at the May election.
The survey of voters comes after the government lost two key members of cabinet, Christopher Pyne and Steve Ciobo, while extraordinary interviews from Julie Bishop and former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull again put leadership tensions in the spotlight.
The government has also been battling its "women issue", which was exacerbated by Mr Morrison's speech on International Women's Day where he said "we want to see women rise ... we don't want to see women rise only on the basis of others doing worse".
The 50th straight loss for the Morrison government is an unwelcome blow as it prepares for an early federal budget in just three weeks which it hopes will launch its re-election bid.
Mr Morrison is tipped to call a May election shortly after Treasurer Josh Frydenberg hands down his first budget.
The government wants to go strong on economic management, but cabinet's newest member - Defence Industry Minister Linda Reynolds - badly mangled answers on wages policy on the Speers on Sunday show on Sky News.
Labor on Sunday talked up its position on improving stagnant wages, with finance spokesman Jim Chalmers saying it would urge the industrial relations umpire to "do the right thing" and lift wages for millions of workers if it wins the next federal election.
Women pre-selected
Over the weekend, the Liberal party pre-selected two women to contest two key seats, including Julie Bishop's blue-ribbon seat of Curtin in Perth.
Former University of Notre Dame vice-chancellor Celia Hammond won Sunday's hotly-contested ballot with 51 votes to defeat four other candidates.
"I am humbled and delighted to have been pre-selected in this pre-selection meeting for the seat of Curtin, following on from the inestimable Julie Bishop," she told reporters.
Meanwhile, Katherine vet Sam McMahon was given the number one spot on the CLP Senate ticket in the Northern Territory, virtually guaranteeing she will replace retiring cabinet minister Nigel Scullion in the Senate.
But it was another woman, Liberal turned independent Julia Banks, who had another crack at the Liberal party over the handling of the spill that ended Malcolm Turnbull's prime ministership last August.
On Ten's The Project, the first-term MP named Tony Abbott the ringleader of the campaign to turf Malcolm Turnbull and Health Minister Greg Hunt as a "prime mover".
She also told a Sydney panel event on Sunday that in terms placing women in leadership positions, the Liberal Party had fallen well behind.
"It was sort of like the business world had gone on a future journey, but the Liberal Party had stopped in time," the Victorian MP said.
The government will hand down the budget on Tuesday April 2.
