When asked on Monday if he thought Prime Minister Julia Gillard would be leader at the next election, he went straight to Hollywood for an answer.

''I know it's Oscar day today . . . and I just thought what movies best reflect the current situation in Canberra?'' Senator Xenophon observed at the start of a sitting week for the Senate only.

''To me it's a combination of Argo – that hostage thriller – and Zero Dark Thirty [a drama about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden featuring graphic depictions of torture]. I think the Australian public is being tortured by what's going on with every opinion poll.''

Last week's Fairfax/Nielsen poll showed support for both Labor and Ms Gillard had slumped, putting the Coalition ahead 56 per cent to 44 per cent, two-party-preferred.

As speculation over the Labor leadership continues, the next Newspoll is due to be published on Tuesday.

Senator Xenophon could identify at least one difference between the Oscars and Labor's predicament:

''Unlike Zero Dark Thirty or Argo, we've got no idea how it's going to end,'' he said.

This comes as Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce called on former prime minister Kevin Rudd to be honest with the Australian people about that fact that he was ''campaigning'' for the leadership.

Mr Rudd has recently stepped up his media appearances but has insisted that he is not angling for Ms Gillard's job, despite Labor's dire standing in the polls – and his strong personal ratings.

''Be straight with us, Kevin,'' Senator Joyce told reporters in Canberra.

''What I don't like about what Mr Rudd's doing is it's self-indulgent.''

Senator Joyce said that if the Member for Griffith was ''fair dinkum'', he should ''have the ticker'' to stand up and declare his intentions.

''[And] if its just some sort of fit of pique where he's sort of sulkily going around trying to throw mud on everybody then he's less of a person that I though he initially was.''

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