Bill Shorten has been practicing his Julie Bishop stare. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Speaking on Ms Devine's internet radio program, Mr Turnbull also said he would not speculate on a cabinet reshuffle other than to squash the suggestion that Mr Abbott would be offered a ministerial post. "No, I'm focused on bringing new, younger people into the cabinet," he said. Mr Turnbull confessed he liked dealing with difficult problems, but that did not include Mr Abbott: "Others might think he is." A jolly-sounding Prime Minister reminisced about the radio career of his grandfather Oscar Lansbury and joked about how the ongoing citizenship crisis meant "only race horses have more of their pedigrees published than we do".

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with voters in Bennelong ahead of this weekend's by-election. Credit:Fiona Morris The prime ministerial mood remained merry even after Ms Devine steered him away from genealogy to his apparently tenuous hold on power. "What a missed opportunity," he said. "There should have been a charitable version of a swear jar for everyone who predicted the imminent demise of the government to put in a hundred bucks when it didn't happen. "Imagine what a Christmas present that would have bought for the Salvos ..." Mr Turnbull expressed relief that former Kiwi, Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, won the by-election in the seat of New England.

"I was very glad to see Barnaby reappear in the House of Representatives," he said. But regrets and relief aside, Mr Turnbull is no shrinking violet when the proverbial hits the fan. "I sleep well," he told Ms Devine (he also shared his sleeping habits with ABC presenter Leigh Sales last week). "You know, I said once I'm a good man in a crisis. That's not to suggest we have any crises but I deal with problems as they come up. "I like dealing with difficult problems. But I think it's important to, as they say in the old wartime ads, stay calm and carry on." Mr Turnbull also trotted out his Trumpian two-word slogan "Australia First" while throwing shade on fellow marriage equality campaigner and Labor leader Bill Shorten.

Referring to Senator Sam Dastyari, the Prime Minister said Mr Shorten has "absolutely failed the test to be an alternative prime minister". "How can you seriously say, as he does, that he wants to be prime minister of Australia and is not prepared to put Australia first?" "Sam Dastyari is an extremely influential member of the Labor party. He is on the front bench. He has plainly not put Australia first. He has clearly been working to advance the interests of a foreign country. That's obvious. That's not in dispute. Why is he still in the Labor party?" Hunting Senator Dastyari might be a popular blood sport but it may not sit easily with the residents of Bennelong whose votes in the upcoming by-election may sour the taste of Mr Turnbull's Christmas turkey. After showing off his mastery of Mandarin (or at least a few words of it), the Prime Minister said Labor's candidate Kristina Keneally was desperate for suggesting he was anti-Chinese.

"I have spent a lot of time in China," Mr Turnbull said. "I have a long standing interest in engagement with China." Mr Turnbull's other hobby has been second-guessing High Court decisions. However, he said: "I confidently predicted we would win the High Court case on the postal survey and that we'd win the case on citizenship, and I got one right and one wrong. "So I've decided to give up predicting High Court decisions because I reckon the risk of going below 50 per cent is too high." The only cloud in Mr Turnbull's interview came towards the end when Ms Devine mentioned criticism that he was not a real Liberal and "Labor-lite". Loading

"Complete and utter rubbish, absolute rubbish," he said. "My whole life, Lucy and I, our whole life has been one of enterprise, getting up, having a go, investing, you know, self-reliance. I mean seriously. That is garbage and people know it's garbage." "Some of these same critics, they say in the one breath I'm a black-hearted capitalist living in my harbourside mansion. On the other hand they want to say I'm a Bolshevik. I mean really, they're like loose cannons going from one side of the ship in a rolling sea."