Roundup: Aussie PM's voter satisfaction rating hits all-time low: poll

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's voter satisfaction rating has slumped to its lowest point since he took over the position, results of the latest Newspoll showed on Tuesday.

Turnbull's support now stands at 29 percent, below the 30 percent level which is the catalyst for Turnbull to oust predecessor Tony Abbott in September 2015.

The prime minister's satisfaction rating is well below that of Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, who rates at 36 percent, while the government continues to trail Labor by 52 percent to 48 percent in the two-party preferred - or votes after preferences - column.

On Tuesday, the Opposition was quick to pounce on the latest Newspoll results with Labor frontbencher Brendan O'Connor telling Sky News that Turnbull was a "hollow man" who was "in a lot of trouble".

"I think Tony Abbott, his predecessor, was better placed in the polls when Malcolm Turnbull stabbed him in the back and took over as Prime Minister," O'Connor said on Tuesday.

"He's a hollow man. He doesn't stand for anything. He gives in and surrenders to the far right of his party. He gives up on climate change and marriage equality too quickly and I think the public are sick of the fact that he doesn't seem to stand for anything."

The results of the Newspoll come after a testing week for both Turnbull and Abbott. In Parliament, while debating the possibility of tweaking with Australia's strict gun laws to win votes for a bill in the Senate, the pair held a public spat about whether or not changing the law had been discussed under Abbott's leadership.

Following Abbott's return to the front page of newspapers around the country, the question was posed to Cabinet secretary Arthur Sinodinis as to whether or not Abbott could make a comeback to the position and oust Turnbull.

Sinodinis told current affairs program Q+A on Monday night that it was ultimately unlikely but he didn't rule out Abbott's return to the top job.

"Will we ever go back to Tony (Abbott)? In politics I've learnt through bitter experience you never rule anything in or out," Sinodinis said on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Monday night.

"If I had to put money on it, I wouldn't put money on it, but I'm always careful in these things because in life I've learnt in politics it's the thing you least expect that can come back."

Meanwhile respected political journalist and former editor-in-chief of The Australian, Chris Mitchell said a comeback attempt couldn't be ruled out but admitted "(Abbott) probably isn't somebody who could rally the numbers".

Despite the latest setback for the Turnbull government, he remains "preferred Prime Minister" compared to Shorten despite dropping three points to 42 percent. Shorten's support to become PM among voters remained at the lower figure of 32 percent.

Government frontbencher Alan Tudge on Tuesday downplayed the results of the Newspoll by saying the government had been voted in by the Australian public "by about a million votes" just three months ago. Endit