Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will appeal directly to Labor and the minor political parties to "meet us in the sensible centre" or risk the wrath of Australians who want their politicians to work together and compromise.
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And in a keynote speech to the Queensland Liberal National Party on Saturday that comes on the eve of Parliament returning, Mr Turnbull will defend his decision to go to a double dissolution election and argue that the Senate crossbench would have been even larger if a regular, half-Senate election had been held.
The call comes after a week of political argy-bargy that has seen Mr Turnbull, and his economic team of Scott Morrison and Mathias Cormann, ramp up pressure on the federal opposition to pass the so-called omnibus savings bill, worth $6.5 billion, when Parliament returns.
Labor leader Bill Shorten, in turn, used a speech at the National Press Club to urge the government pass about $8 billion of measures, including tax hikes, that the opposition had proposed during the election - and which the government has already rejected.
The government will introduce a swag of bills when the 45th Parliament sits for the first time next week, including the savings bill, a trio of industrial relations bills, a bill to cut company taxes and a bill that will give middle-income earners a modest tax cut.
And after the lengthy parliamentary break since the July 2 poll, some government MPs have told Fairfax Media they believe the Coalition has been drifting and that Mr Turnbull needed to seize the agenda.
One Liberal MP, who did not back Mr Turnbull in last year's leadership contest, said the government had been "entirely reactive. Malcolm had a plan to become PM, but not for what he wanted to do as PM".
A second Liberal MP, who reluctantly backed Mr Turnbull, said: "There doesn't seem to be a sense of urgency, drive or commitment – all the things you would expect."
And a third Liberal MP, who emphatically backed Mr Turnbull last year, said simply: "We are drifting and it's very disappointing."
Amid that rising concern within the Coalition, the Prime Minister will promise on Saturday to pursue an "ambitious agenda that is prioritised, well-sequenced and addresses the concerns of Australians. We have a long to-do list, with budget repair at the top".
"We ask Labor to pass savings measures they say they support; Labor wants the Government to back policies we have always opposed," he will say, according to his speech notes.
"I urge Bill Shorten, Labor and all the parties to do the same - meet us in the sensible centre. To act otherwise would badly misread the mood of the vast majority of Australians who want us to work together to secure their future."
Mr Turnbull will say that after discussions with the new crossbench, "we are confident that we can find common ground with them in order to achieve our objectives", while defending the decision to hold the double dissolution.
"In the last parliament there were eight crossbenchers, six of whom had been newly-elected at the 2013 half-Senate election. Had there been a half-Senate election this year, instead of a double dissolution, we could have reasonably expected another six crossbenchers being elected for a total of 12."
On Friday, former prime minister Tony Abbott called on conservatives to hold their nerve, and to convince ordinary voters that cutting spending was in the national interest.
"When it comes to budget repair, the reality is that this government has been in office, but not really in power," he said.
with Bianca Hall
