Federal treasurer Scott Morrison has brushed aside suggestions he is being shunted as the government's chief economic salesman heading into the May budget, following reports of disquiet in government ranks about his performance.
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Mr Morrison dismissed an ABC report suggesting he would take a back seat to Malcolm Turnbull in the lead up to the budget and said the Prime Minister was "always the chief economic spokesperson for the government. Always has been. Always should be".
"The Prime Minister and I work together as a team on these things. We work on budgets together as we are now."
However, Coalition MPs have this week been discussing a reshuffle in June, after the federal budget, that could see some members of Mr Turnbull's ministry dumped and others promoted.
Privately, government MPs and staff also point to strained relations between the two most senior political offices in the country.
But they argued it was normal for the Prime Minister to play a greater role in the economic debate in the lead up to the budget.
Fairfax Media reported on Tuesday that Immigration Minister Peter Dutton could be promoted to head up a new, super-sized Department of Homeland Security that would merge his current department with other security agencies such as the federal police and spy agency ASIO.
Attorney-General George Brandis, who has responsibility for ASIO, would be moved on, while new portfolios could be handed to cabinet ministers Michaelia Cash or Christian Porter.
Allies of Senator Brandis, in turn, insist he has no plans to quit federal politics.
In addition, there is persistent talk the Nationals' leader in the senate, Nigel Scullion, could retire, and there is speculation Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce could move to Infrastructure while Regional Development Minister Fiona Nash would move to Agriculture, and Darren Chester would move from Infrastructure to Indigenous Affairs.
Junior ministers Alan Tudge, Dan Tehan and Paul Fletcher – all in the outer ministry – are in line to move into cabinet, though not all could be accommodated in a reshuffle.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten seized on the apparent divisions in government ranks ahead of a make or break federal budget, highlighting an "unusual state of affairs where you see the Prime Minister's people publicly humiliating the Treasurer ... if the Prime Minister doesn't have confidence in the Treasurer, he should simply move him".
"He shouldn't go around in the sneaky way and just undermine him, and I think the question we are all asking is: will the Treasurer stand by and be publicly humiliated by the Prime Minister?"
Mr Turnbull, meanwhile, focused on energy and penalty rates.
Cabinet met on Friday to discuss reforms to section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, penalty rates reductions flagged by the Fair Work Commission and the coming May budget.
It appears likely the government will settle on administrative changes to streamline the handling of complaints to the Human Rights Commission and possibly attempt to introduce a "reasonable person" test.
But MPs are divided on the adoption of a proposal to add the word "harass" and delete "insult" and "offend" from section 18C.
