Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has fired off a missive to any Labor members preparing for a thumping federal election victory in May.

Senator Cormann says former Labor leader Kim Beazley was "way more electable" than Bill Shorten in 2001, but ended up snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

"All of those Labor people, from Bill Shorten down, who are getting really cocky would do well to have another look at what happened in 2001," he told Sky News on Sunday.