Defence Minister Christopher Pyne believes his colleagues need to stop playing "parlour games" after the coalition lost its 40th Newspoll in a row following a change of leadership.
In the first Newspoll since Scott Morrison replaced Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister on August 24, the coalition has seen a further drop in two-party-preferred terms, lagging behind Labor at 44 per cent to 56 per cent.
The difference was closer in the last Newspoll of Mr Turnbull's prime ministership at 49 per cent to 51 per cent.
The poll published in The Australian on Monday also showed the government's primary vote moved up one point from 33 per cent to 34 per cent but Labor's also rose a point to 42 per cent.
"There have been far too many people here in Canberra playing parlour games with politics for the last 10 years," Mr Pyne told ABC radio on Monday.
"It's not just a Liberal problem, it's also a Labor problem, it's also a National Party problem.
"Since the 11 years of stability in the Howard government, we've had five prime ministers and the Wagga by-election was a very clear message to politicians: Stop playing games in Canberra and focus on us."
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the poll was good for Mr Morrison.
"What it shows, though, is that the prime minister has had a very strong start," Senator Cormann told reporters.
"The last few weeks have been difficult weeks and Australians have marked us down for that, that is not surprising in any way, shape or form.
"It's important now for us to get on with it, to continue to deliver, to keep the Australian economy strong, to keep Australians safe, to keep Australians together, and that is what we'll continue to do."
Former prime minister Tony Abbott, one of the key agitators for a change in leadership, said on Sunday the government was getting back on track.
"I think this is a better government today than it was three weeks ago, and I'm looking forward to giving it every support," he said.
Meanwhile, the results showed Mr Morrison was the preferred prime minister over Labor leader Bill Shorten, polling 42 per cent to 36 per cent.
More than 40 per cent of voters were satisfied with Mr Morrison's performance while 39 per cent were dissatisfied, the poll showed.
This compared to Mr Shorten's performance results, with 37 per cent of voters satisfied with his performance, compared to 51 per cent dissatisfied.
The Greens' primary vote remains at 10 per cent while One Nation has dropped a point to six per cent.
The poll canvassed 1653 voters and was conducted between September 6 and 9.
Australian Associated Press
