Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has laid the blame for the government's drop in the polls squarely at the feet of Tony Abbott, describing the former leader's "outburst" last week as a calculated and deliberate attack to undermine confidence in the Coalition.

The Turnbull government is now trailing Labor 55-45 on a two-party preferred basis, with its primary vote slipping to 34 per cent and One Nation's rising to 10 per cent, according to the latest Newspoll. The polling was conducted amid the furore triggered by Mr Abbott's criticisms of his successor's government.

Mr Turnbull was direct in apportioning the blame on Monday: "A poll is a snapshot of opinion at one particular time. The election is two years away and what we saw was an outburst on Thursday and it had its desired impact on the Newspoll, it was exactly as predicted and calculated."

"[Mr Abbott] knew exactly what he was doing and he did it," Mr Turnbull said in a press conference.