Tony Abbott and federal ministers have launched an end-of-year blitz to clear policy "barnacles" and lift the coalition's stocks.
Senate crossbenchers have been invited to meetings and dinners with the prime minister, senior ministers and advisers in a bid to unblock the government's budget measures.
The new phase follows Monday's full ministry meeting, during which Mr Abbott moved to inject new momentum into the coalition, which continues to lag behind Labor in the polls.
The prime minister told the coalition party room on Tuesday it had been a difficult and sometimes tumultuous year, but the tumult was all "external to the government".
"There are one or two barnacles still on the ship but by Christmas they will have been dealt with," Mr Abbott said.
The prime minister remains hopeful of deregulating university fees and imposing the $7 GP co-payment, which will deliver a total budget saving of $8.5 billion over the forward estimates.
Social security changes set to deliver more than $5 billion in savings remain blocked, but a less controversial part of the package has passed with Labor support.
Newly independent senator Jacqui Lambie, one of six crucial Senate votes, is due to hold talks with Mr Abbott this week after she threatened to block all government bills until a better pay deal was offered to defence personnel.
Mr Abbott appeared to cede some ground in parliament when, in answer to a Labor question on the pay offer, he said: "We are keeping these matters under close review, but the fact is that we cannot pay people everything that we would like to."
He blamed the need for budget cuts on the previous Labor government.
Coalition backbenchers at Tuesday's meeting called on ministers to take a more aggressive approach towards Labor.
Mr Abbott appeared to take notice of the advice, labelling the Labor leader "Backstabber Bill" and accusing Mr Shorten of being a fraud and a hypocrite over the issue of ABC funding.
Asked how a Labor government would fund the national broadcaster, Mr Shorten told reporters he would improve ABC funding but would have to see the budget bottom line before committing to anything.
Mr Abbott said that because the budget deficit turned out to be closer to $50 billion than the expected $30 billion after the election, it was necessary for the ABC to contribute to savings.
Mr Shorten told a caucus meeting the government falsely believed its sales pitch was the problem.
"It is what this unfair budget does to the lives of Australians, not the presentation - the fact that it makes life harder, not easier," he said.
Coalition MPs were told they could be optimistic because in the new year they would see a faster-than-expected rollout of the national broadband network and $50 billion in roads spending, which would be bolstered by the $5.7 billion raised from the sale of Medibank Private.
