Kevin Rudd has told his staff they should focus on the positives in order to ride out a serious poll slump for the government.
The Prime Minister went into Monday's caucus meeting overshadowed by a Nielsen poll, the second in less than a week to show new levels of voter disenchantment with the Rudd government.
The poll had Labor and the coalition neck and neck at 50 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.
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It came after a series of government backflips, including the shelving of an emissions trading scheme, scrapping the troubled home insulation scheme and hundreds of planned childcare centres, and changing its stance on asylum seekers.
Tasmanian backbencher Dick Adams was among those MPs who went into the caucus meeting demanding Mr Rudd explain the decisions.
"Some of us are waiting to hear that," he told reporters.
The meeting was reportedly "quick, businesslike and determined" but it was longer than usual as Mr Rudd was quizzed about those prickly issues.
He first acknowledged that the government faced a difficult time, and needed to "navigate" difficult issues and balance them with the government's achievements.
Among those he listed were its "formidable" economic record, the rollout of computers and new buildings to schools, the increase to the aged pension, health and hospital reform, the childcare tax rebate and the apology to the stolen generations.
He also spent part of his talk to MPs explaining the positives of his planned resources super profits tax, which has outraged mining companies.
Rudd took full responsibility for the government's actions and urged caucus to maintain its "unity of purpose".
One MP asked the Prime Minister about the change of policy on Afghan and Sri Lankan asylum seekers, and also questioned his media policy.
He asked whether Mr Rudd hadn't visited too many hospitals in the lead-up to the hospital reforms, leaving him "over-exposed".
The question reportedly got a laugh, and was handled well by Mr Rudd, who explained he needed the first-hand feedback in order to be properly prepared for the reforms.
He was also questioned about the emissions trading scheme, in particular the new 2013 start date, but said he remained committed to the government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and its targets.
