The cash handouts delivered by Labor starting this July failed to hit the mark as the party continues to lag behind the Coalition in the latest Newspoll survey, its primary vote sinking deeper at 28 per cent.

The decline, however, was not exclusive to the government as the Coalition also saw its primary numbers losing two percentage points from two weeks ago to settle at 46 per cent, still a separation of 18 points that only added to the growing woes of Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

In terms of two-party preferred, 56 per cent of Aussie voters backed the party being headlined by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott while Ms Gillard's Labor only mustered 44 per cent of support from the public.

And even her personal ratings were not any better at all, according to The Australian, which gained a point to 36 per cent as against to Mr Abbott's 40 per cent, whose loss of a full percentage point in the latest reading was offset by his four-point margin over the Labor leader.

The signs are clear, analysts said, the minority government will be no more and Ms Gillard has barely a year to go to build up on the Labor primary support, which preferably should jump to 38 percent by the time the Parliament resumes in mid-August.

With about 62 per cent of voters expressing their dissatisfaction with the Labor prime minister, it is not remote for the ruling party to correct the situation and gather its ranks that could put aside an unpopular leader, as earlier expressed by Labor whip Joel Fitzgibbon.

The Labor pendulum could soon swing in favour of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who remains popular despite being ousted two years ago.

And Labor taking chance on Mr Rudd was not a gamble at all, observers said, as Newspoll noted on its latest support that Mr Abbott garnered too a not so satisfactory rating in the eyes of Australian voters.

Mr Abbott's 61 per cent of dissatisfaction rating or net rating of negative 31 per cent was "his worst yet in his time as Leader of the Opposition," according to Newspoll chief executive Martin O'Shannessy.

It is safe to say that the country's two leading political figures failed to inspire necessary support from the public, Mr O'Shannessy told The Australian.

And it remains a question too if Mr Rudd can pick up where Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott left off if indeed Labor would resurrect him, analysts said.

Yet for Trade Minister Craig Emerson, the new survey signalled not only the role of popularity in governance but also the importance of delivering results coming from all political parties.

Dr Emerson conceded that both Labor and the Coalition were being punished by what the public perceived as political gridlock in the border protection that raged prior to the Parliament's winter break.

Also, as a reform-focused prime minister, Ms Gillard will be hard-pressed to please the average Australian, he added.

"When you have a reforming prime minister, you can go into situations where you are not doing well in the polls," the Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported Dr Emerson as saying on Tuesday.

But no complaints can be heard from the Coalition as Liberal Senator George Brandis told Sky News: "We're not shedding any tears over this poll this morning."

Indeed when you are winning and soaring high, however unpopular you may be, there is no point in crying at all.

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