Joel Fitzgibbon has deviated from the script on bad poll numbers for Labor. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Internal Labor polling, reported by Fairfax Media, has also shown that as it stands, Labor is likely to lose all of its remaining seats north of the Brisbane river. This would include Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan's seat of Lilley. Meanwhile, a further News Ltd poll showed Labor facing massive swings against it in Victoria. Mr Fitzgibbon also joked about a seminar for retiring MPs at Parliament House. ''I hope there is not a rush for the door,'' he quipped. The Labor MP for Hunter in NSW, noted that Labor had ''rejected'' the idea of a return to former prime minister Kevin Rudd as leader in March.

''The die has been cast and again, we just need to bind together as a party and get on with it.'' Mr Rudd conceded on Tuesday that times were tough for Labor. "Let's just be honest about it, it's very, very tough," he told reporters in Canberra. "I think that's the conversation going on right now with all my parliamentary colleagues who, I've got to say, knowing most of them really well, work their guts out in their communities. So it's really tough going.'' In responding to questions on the latest poll result, Labor Left leader Doug Cameron made a veiled criticism of the party's leadership, saying its assurances of a ''J-curve'' in voter support had not eventuated.

''There's been policies not sold as well as they should have been, there's policies that have not been defended as well as they should have,'' Senator Cameron told reporters in Canberra. Fairfax/Nielsen pollster John Stirton told Fairfax Media's Breaking Politics program on Tuesday that it was unlikely that Labor would lose all but one seat in Queensland, but polls still pointed to a bad result in the state. ''Our polling is showing that the swing against Labor in Queensland is enough for them to lose around five of their eight seats, rather than the seven, which is the worst-case scenario that Labor are talking about,'' Mr Stirton said. Mr Abbott was keen to tone down any pre-election excitement among Coalition MPs on Tuesday. He told the Coalition party room that although they may have felt ''buoyed'' by the morning's newspapers, the election was still a long time away.

''If week is a long time in politics, 102 days is an eternity,'' he said. Mr Abbott urged MPs to stay on their best behaviour in the lead up to the election. In a regular address to the party room, he stressed the importance of character. ''We should ask ourselves every day, 'am I conducting myself in a way that befits a member of parliament?' '' Mr Abbott also told MPs to keep up their effort levels ahead of September 14, to show the public that the Coalition deserved government.

''Everyone in the room must work incredibly hard between now and election day,'' he said. Liberal senator Simon Birmingham denied the Coalition was becoming complacent about an election victory. ''We know people want a change, but we also know we need to earn their votes and earn their trust, and in the next 101 days that's all we'll be doing,'' he said. But independent senator Nick Xenophon agreed that Labor's position did not look good. ''These polls seem to be not so much within the margin of error as the margin of disaster,'' he said.

''The Labor MPs I speak to are pretty despondent at the moment, and I think they're just hoping it'll tighten before election day.'' Australian Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt said his party was confident it could retain control of the Senate. ''The people need to understand there is a very real prospect that Tony Abbott could have total control of the Parliament,'' he told reporters. ''The way in which they can take out some insurance is by voting Greens.'' With AAP