Scott Morrison is keeping tight-lipped on the election date, as he hits the road to spruik his federal budget and enjoys his best Newspoll result ever.
But his chances of stopping Labor forming majority government remain unlikely, according to two major polls released on Sunday.
While an Ipsos poll shows the budget has gone down well with the electorate with 41 per cent of voters rating it as fair, the Coalition continues to trail Labor 48-52 according to a Newspoll, published in The Australian on Monday.
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No election date or apology from PM
Labor leader Bill Shorten has savaged Mr Morrison for refusing to fire the starter's gun on the campaign over the weekend as expected.
Mr Shorten accused the prime minister of pushing back the election so the cash-strapped coalition parties can exploit an extra week of taxpayer-funded ads.
"This government wants to spend tens of millions of dollars on TV advertising to pump up their own tyres," he told reporters in Melbourne.
But the prime minister dismissed the criticism, saying Labor did exactly the same thing when they were in office.
"Bill can be as frustrated and anxious and grumpy as he likes, but you know, we are running to the plan that we've set as a government," Mr Morrison told reporters in Sydney.
"We're looking forward to the weeks ahead and it won't be before too long that obviously we will go to the polls."
May 18 is now firming as the most likely election date, while May 25 is still an option.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on the morning after the budget was handed down. Source: AAP
"We're not doing this with any haste and we're not doing it with any delay," Mr Morrison said.
Education Minister Dan Tehan said the government needed time to sell its budget to Australian voters.
"If the opposition think they're not going to sell their budget reply because it's so hopeless, well that's fine, they can try and do some other things," he told reporters in Canberra.
"But the government gave a very good budget, and we want to make sure that the Australian people understand it."
The budget appears to have helped the government halve the eight-point gap it trailed Labor in the last Newspoll.
The coalition now trails Labor 48-52 on a two-party preferred basis, The Australian reported.
Another poll, by Ipsos and published in The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, also suggested a clear gap between the two major parties (coalition 47, Labor 53).
The latest polls follow reports that Tony Abbott is facing a 12 per cent swing against him in Warringah.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported internal polling put the former prime minister behind independent challenger Zali Steggall, but the Liberals are more confident of regaining Malcolm Turnbull's former seat of Wentworth.
Labor only needs a uniform swing of about one per cent to win majority government.
A swing of three per cent would spell the end of senior minister Peter Dutton and David Coleman's careers and deliver Labor 83 spots in the 151-seat lower house.
On Monday, the prime minister heads to Brisbane to address a business lunch.
Back in Canberra, the Senate is scheduled to hold a week of budget estimates, where senior officials are grilled about government spending.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. Source: AP
Delaying the election could have knock-on consequences for income tax cuts included in the federal budget, which are due to take effect in July.
It is looking increasingly likely that parliament won't return in time to pass the necessary legislation, but the education minister is unfazed.
"We will be doing everything we can to make sure that Australians get the tax cuts that they deserve," Mr Tehan said.
