Tony Abbott has read the riot act to his cabinet, reminding them of the "personal and political consequences" of leaking to the media.
Weekend media reports outlined in great detail a rift in the cabinet last week over a plan to give the immigration minister the power to strip Australian terror suspects of their citizenship.
Despite six ministers speaking out, the cabinet settled on an initial step to allow the minister to take Australian citizenship away from dual citizens, subject to judicial review and measures to ensure no person is made stateless.
But the further step to deal with sole Australian citizens was only included in a discussion paper open for public comment until the end of June.
At Tuesday's coalition joint party meeting, a government MP voiced disappointment about the breach of cabinet confidentiality.
The MP told the meeting that all coalition backbenchers were keen to become cabinet ministers one day and were aware of the great responsibility that the role required, even if some ministers were not.
In response, Mr Abbott warned his MPs there were "personal and political consequences" for divulging cabinet processes.
He described Monday's cabinet meeting as having had a "come to Jesus moment" - a term often used in US politics for a time to examine core priorities.
The ministers had been reminded of their responsibilities in a full and frank discussion at that meeting, Mr Abbott said.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten used question time to quiz Mr Abbott about what steps he was taking to identify the leaking ministers.
Mr Abbott ducked the question but signalled he may take the tougher step to deal with Australian sole citizens.
"Anyone who raises a gun or a knife to Australians simply because of who we are and the values we have has forfeited his or her right to consider himself one of us," he told parliament.
Asked about one of the potential leakers, Julie Bishop, Mr Abbott said the foreign minister was doing "fine work" overseas.
Small Business Minister Bruce Billson said the prime minister had made a clear statement to the party room.
"Leaking from cabinet is a shameless move, it serves no good purpose and ... undermines a lot of the work of our colleagues and the interests of the Australian people," he told Sky News.
Mr Abbott has been backed by 44 coalition MPs who signed a letter calling for a tougher approach to extremists. Many believe the national security issue is working well for the government in their electorates.
The latest Newspoll has Labor leading 52-48 in two-party terms but Mr Abbott maintains a lead as preferred prime minister and for the first time in 14 months has a stronger approval rating than Mr Shorten.
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