Scott Morrison's government is still heading for a terrible defeat, but the latest polls show he's clawed back some ground.
Instead of a horror wipeout, the coalition looks to be heading for just a regular wipeout, with Labor leading the two-party preferred vote 54 per cent to 46.
The coalition was behind 56-44 in the previous two Newspolls, but is looking better after its primary vote rose two points to 36 per cent.
"I'm just sticking to my job mate, basically," the prime minister said when he was asked about the polls on Monday.
Mr Morrison, who attended a ceremony to mark construction of the Western Sydney Airport, increased his lead as preferred prime minster to 45 per cent ahead of Bill Shorten's 32 per cent, the Newspoll shows.
Mr Shorten's approval fell five points while Mr Morrison's rose three points. Mr Morrison's approval is the best result for a prime minister since February 2016.
Mr Shorten, who is on leave this week, recently met business figures for dinner, sparking concerns in the coalition the business lobby is preparing for a Labor election win.
"Bill Shorten thinks he's already there, he's strutting around like if he's in the job. I have no such arrogance and complacency," Mr Morrison told reporters.
Former foreign minister Julie Bishop also told the Nine Network there was too much "vicious behaviour" in question time, including name-calling and insults.
Mr Morrison said it was a matter for the speaker Tony Smith, but argued Australians saw the parliament working well last week to quickly pass laws to deal with the strawberry needle issue.
"When the strawberry farmers of Australia and the mums and dads of Australia needed our parliament and the government to step up, our government, we did," he said.
The prime minister also came out in front on the Newspoll question of which leader voters considered more authentic.
In a bad sign for Mr Shorten, 21 per cent of Labor voters also chose Mr Morrison.
The poll of 1675 voters was conducted nationally for The Australian.
