Malcolm Turnbull keeps saying the next election is anyone's game and the latest Newspoll puts his government in its best position since just after the last election.
The coalition trails Labor 49-51 per cent on a two-party preferred basis, according to the results of the 31st Newspoll published by The Australian on Sunday night.
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The two-point margin is the coalition's best since September 2016.
"The political contest in Australia is very close, and we're focused on delivering for the Australian people," Mr Turnbull told reporters in Berlin on Sunday.
"My job is to deliver on the commitment I made of jobs and growth.
"We have record jobs growth in Australia and it's because ... that economic plan is working."
The latest result exceeds Mr Turnbull's marker for rolling Tony Abbott as prime minister in September 2015. He used 30 consecutive Newspoll losses as a reason for ousting Mr Abbott.
But his leadership is not under immediate threat, with coalition MPs waiting to see how the federal budget lands and where polling goes.
Mr Turnbull remains preferred prime minister at 38 per cent to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's 35 per cent.
Mr Abbott himself welcomed the latest result.
"What it does show is that the next election is winnable," he told 2GB radio.
But the primary vote of both parties remains low, with the coalition stuck at 38 per cent and Labor at 37 per cent.
The coalition has been behind Labor 53-47 per cent in many recent polls.
The jump in this poll comes as One Nation preferences are predicted to go more towards the coalition than they did at the 2016 election.
