Labor MPs insist "no one is panicking yet" after Monday's Fairfax-Ipsos poll delivered a massive boost to the Coalition's two-party preferred vote, handing a commanding 53-47 lead to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
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And the proposed redistribution of NSW seats, unveiled by the electoral commission on Friday, has triggered a Game of Thrones-style contest that could see a slew of Labor MPs move to safer seats and the likely retirement of a Labor veteran as NSW loses a seat to Western Australia.
The Fairfax-Ipsos poll saw Labor's primary vote fall six percentage points to just 30 per cent, while the Coalition's has surged from 38 per cent to 45 per cent since the last poll in August and the switch to Mr Turnbull. Mr Turnbull also leads as preferred prime minister with 67 per cent to Labor leader Bill Shorten's 21.
Before the publication of the poll, Labor MP Ed Husic conceded the opposition would have preferred Tony Abbott to remain prime minister, "but the fact of the matter is the country is better that he's not".
Many Labor MPs contacted by Fairfax Media agreed with that assessment, but none would say so publicly.
One said the switch to Mr Turnbull meant "the game has changed and our approach has to change with it".
Another MP said that "no one is panicking but we'd be happier if the poll wasn't where it was" and that "this is the honeymoon, it may or may not last".
A third MP said that if the Prime Minister called an election now "we would be in all sorts of trouble, there seems to be a reservoir of good will for Turnbull".
And a fourth said the result was "shithouse" and that "the battle field has shifted" since the switch to Mr Turnbull, with revivals for the Liberals under way in South Australia and Victoria, and parts of Queensland and Western Australia - where Mr Abbott had been popular - now in play.
The poll comes after Mr Shorten last week came under fire after his party's attack on Mr Turnbull's wealth fell flat in the Parliament, while witnesses at the trade union royal commission said Mr Shorten had been part of early discussions about $100,000 so-called side payments made by Thiess John Holland to his former union, the Australian Workers Union.
Shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh, however, defended the Opposition Leader's flagging popularity and said he had proposed "idea after idea".
"I believe this is a long conversation with the Australian people over the course of the next year. Labor has a suite of policy offerings, from our conversations around cities, multinational taxation, making sure that we have better opportunities for our students at universities through our higher education package," he said.
Meanwhile, in NSW, a series of proposed boundary changes including the abolition of the present seat of Hunter, as well as significant shifts in electoral boundaries in seats including Grayndler, Barton, Fowler, McMahon and Paterson has kicked off rampant speculation about Labor MPs moving to safer seats.
Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese, who has seen a large section of his seat of Grayndler moved to Barton under the proposed changes, is now said to be considering switching seats.
Mr Albanese's family home and electorate office would both be situated in Barton, a marginal Liberal seat held by Nickolas Vararis, that becomes notionally Labor under the changes.
Grayndler, in turn, would be hotly contested, with local councillor Darcy Byrne and former state MP Verity Firth already spoken of as possible candidates if Mr Albanese moves.
Similarly, Labor treasury spokesman Chris Bowen could move from his present seat of McMahon, which becomes more marginal under the changes, to nearby Fowler, which is currently held by Labor veteran Chris Hayes.
In and around Newcastle, the picture is even more complex. Current member for Hunter Joel Fitzgibbon wants to move to the seat of Charlton, which will be re-named Hunter, and which is currently held by first term MP Pat Conroy.
Mr Conroy, in turn, has two options - moving to nearby Shortland, held by veteran Labor Jill Hall, or instead pushing for Mr Fitzgibbon, a member of the shadow cabinet, to instead contest Paterson.
Paterson is held by Liberal Bob Baldwin but has become notionally Labor under the changes.
A further complicating factor is that NSW Labor deputy secretary John Graham is also said to have his eye on the seat of Shortland, if Ms Hall decides to retire.
Ms Hall said she"hasn't made a decision" on whether to retire or not.
"No matter what happens, proper processes need to be gone through, if I stand or someone else stands in Shortland," she said.
Objections to the redrawn boundaries can be made until November before a second proposal is issued. A final determination will be made in February next year.
