JULIA Gillard has celebrated her survival as Prime Minister by telling the final Caucus meeting for the year that Labor MPs had been courageous.

The Prime Minister told Causcus perseverance has paid off, claiming the year had been one of achievement.



With Parliament having at most three more days before the long summer break, the PM is likely to defy leadership rumours and basement-level polling to stay in the job.



Newspoll figures published today showed the Government remained a long way behind the Coalition once preferences were allocated, 57 per cent to 43 per cent.



Labor's primary vote was a dismal 30 per cent and the Coalition's 48 per cent.



The only consolation for Labor was that after a month of high-profile prime ministerial activity, including visits by Queen Elizabeth and US President Barack Obama, Ms Gillard was preferred PM over Opposition Leader Tony Abbott 40 per cent to 35 per cent.



But Mr Abbott sneeringly dismissed this as a result of Ms Gillard “stalking the world's leaders in search of a photo opportunity''.



The Opposition Leader told his end-of-year meeting with Coalition backbenchers that the public had a “settled view'' that the Government was wasteful and incompetent.



Labor hopes that by getting through what Ms Gillard had foreshadowed would be a year of decision and delivery, polling will start to pick up in the coming two years before the scheduled election.



Prime Minister Gillard today underlined this by thanking her MPs for their “courage and resolution'' over what she said had been a long year.



She said the Government was not defined by timidity but by implementation of traditional Labor values, and achieving outcomes including the passage of 237 pieces of legislation.



The achievements had also included creating 100,000 jobs, passing carbon pricing laws, the expected introduction of a tax on mining super profits, rolling out the NBN and introducing a paid parental leave scheme.



“We believe good government can shape the future. We believe we can shape the future with fairness and opportunity,'' she told Caucus.