Scott Morrison has tucked into a hot pie on the campaign trail in Queensland but the latest poll shows voters are going cold on his government.
The prime minister also played down talk he might hold two federal elections next year, describing it as "Canberra bubble chatter".
An Essential poll released on Tuesday shows the coalition's primary vote has fallen to 36 per cent, while Labor has climbed to 39 per cent.
On a two-party preferred basis, Labor is leading the coalition 54 per cent to 46 per cent.
"I'm interested in what Queenslanders are interested in, and that's their roads, that's their infrastructure, that's the support that only we can provide for Medicare and affordable medicines," Mr Morrison told reporters.
The prime minister is touring regional Queensland, but he copped criticism for catching a VIP plane to Townsville rather than taking his "ScoMo Express" bus.
"I'm not going to sacrifice time with Queenslanders, listening to them and hearing them and talking to them about what's important to them just to satisfy the media's interest in the timetable for the bus," he said.
Mr Morrison's "listening and doing tour" will continue through to north Queensland.
The prime minister quashed suggestions the 2019 elections for the House of Representatives and Senate could be broken up and held months apart.
Fairfax Media reports some coalition MPs have been canvassing a radical proposal to hold a Senate election early in 2019 and a separate election for the lower house later in the year.
"That's just Canberra bubble chatter. We've got no plans to do it," Mr Morrison said.
Labor senator Jenny McAllister savaged the reported idea as "desperate" and expensive.
"I think it would be extremely unpopular with voters. It hasn't happened for decades. I'm very surprised to see people talk about it," she told Sky News.
The Essential poll put Mr Morrison's preferred prime minister rating at 41 per cent, well ahead of Bill Shorten on 29 per cent.
However, Mr Morrison's net personal approval rating - the difference between approval and disapproval - has tightened from 15 per cent to four per cent over the month.
The Greens' primary vote remained steady at 10 per cent, while Pauline Hanson's One Nation dropped from seven per cent to six per cent.
