A poker faced Julia Gillard believes she is still suited to lead the Australian nation.

The Prime Minister spoke on ABC Radio in Brisbane on Friday, ultimately revealing "I'm not going anywhere."

Responding to reports of disenchantment inside Labor about her leadership in the wake of a High Court decision scuttling the government's asylum-seeker swap deal with Malaysia, Ms Gillard is remaining steadfast in the face of criticism.

Federal Labor was abuzz with speculation about possible replacements, potentials including Kevin Rudd and Stephen Smith, Fairfax newspapers said on Friday.

As senior colleagues rushed to defend their leader, Ms Gillard was unfazed by such speculation, insisting she was the "best person" to be prime minister.

"I've got a lot of things to do to keep realising the vision of the nation's future," she said.

Ms Gillard denied anyone in the Labor caucus had taken her aside top voice concerns over her leadership.

Her government had taken some "tough" and "bold" decisions to make sure no Australians were disadvantaged.

An expression of annoyance appeared when her leadership was compared to that of Mr Rudd, who she beat out in a leadership bid last June when the caucus became concerned about his remoteness from MPs.

"I'm not going to canvass that," she said with a sense of finality.

Cabinet minister Craig Emerson expressed faith in Ms Gillard as "a strong leader", saying that was what Australians desired and expected.

"They expect leaders to make tough decisions even if those decisions aren't always popular in the short term," he explained to ABC Radio.

Mr Emerson insists Labor can win the next election, saying there was a contrast between Ms Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who he described as "a rank opportunist".

Cabinet colleague Tony Burke said the government had been "governing well" and he had "absolute" confidence in Ms Gillard.

"We've got a challenge at the moment which was not seen coming as a result of this High Court decision," he told the Seven Network.

Chief Government Whip Joel Fitzgibbon dismissed suggestions Ms Gillard lacked authority.

"If she lacked authority, the people who are quoted would have put their names to the story," he told ABC Radio of the newspaper reports.

The MP further dismissed speculation former Queensland premier Peter Beattie was maneuvering for a tilt at federal politics and the leadership.

Mr Beattie reportedly held talks with top Labor officials to analyse Ms Gillard's plunging popularity and discuss how to speed his own run for federal parliament.

The dinner was held in secret at Brisbane last week before the Gillard government was in shambles as a result of the High Court decision.

Mr Fitzgibbon said talk of Beattie going to Canberra "underscores how silly this is".

"Julia Gillard enjoys the support of caucus and will lead the party to the next election," he said.

Opposition frontbenchman Andrew Robb said the unrest in the government ranks was dangerous and unsustainable, echoing concerns about potential instability.

"At the moment this is a country virtually without a government," Mr Robb said.

Mr Rob also warned that a "really dysfunctional government" was harming the national interest and that he foresees one looming in the horizon.