The option was canvassed because it would give the government more scope to deliver a federal budget early in the year to rebuild its stocks after a slump in the opinion polls over the two months since the Liberal Party's brutal coup to remove Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister. Another option, which was considered before Mr Turnbull's removal and remains a possibility, is to call an election soon after Australia Day on January 26 to hold a simultaneous election for both houses of Parliament in early March. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has launched a pitch to Queensland voters this week with a bus tour from the Gold Coast to Townsville, announcing new visa rules to help farmers hire foreign workers and new funding for a light rail project from Broadbeach to Burleigh Heads. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Asked whether his bus tour was the start of an election campaign, Mr Morrison said: "This is me doing what I do - I'm out, I'm listening, I'm hearing and I'm doing. That's what I'm doing as a Prime Minister."

Government sources have dismissed the idea of an early election this year on the grounds it is too soon after the leadership change on August 24. Loading The last date for a simultaneous election for the House of Representatives and half the Senate is May 18, according to an analysis by the Parliamentary Library, and this is considered the leading option. The May election would ensure the Morrison government goes to the polls after the NSW Liberal government of Premier Gladys Berejiklian, which must be held on March 23. An earlier election, such as the Australia Day option, would invite political danger by ensuring the federal campaign for an election in early March would overlap with the state campaign.

The latest date for a standard half-Senate election is May 18 but the election for the House of Representatives does not need to be held until November 2, according to the Parliamentary Library analysis. While Australians have gone to simultaneous elections for both houses of Parliament for decades, the process was "out of sync" throughout the 1960s when voters went to elections for the lower house in 1966, 1969 and 1972 while casting ballots for the upper house in 1964, 1967 and 1970. Political leaders have tried to keep the two houses synchronised since the early 1970s out of concern at a backlash from voters who object to being forced to the polls too often, a factor that led some Liberals to dismiss the option to Fairfax Media on Monday. Others did not rule out the idea. The discussion about election dates has intensified in recent days as the government gets closer to releasing the calendar for sittings of Federal Parliament next year, offering an insight into when it expects to hand down the federal budget and when it might go to the polls. One source acknowledged the published calendar is likely to be "fiction" because the date of the budget is likely to be in early May but can be adjusted by the government as needed.

Loading Two years ago, for instance, the government scheduled the federal budget on May 10 but brought it forward to May 3 in a sudden decision to prepare for a double dissolution election of the full Senate as well as the House of Representatives on July 2. The government has full scope to adjust the timing of the budget. One of the options being considered within the Morrison government, similar to considerations in the Turnbull government, is to issue an economic statement at the beginning of the campaign in lieu of a full budget. This would echo the approach taken by Labor in 2013 when then prime minister Kevin Rudd and then treasurer Chris Bowen issued an economic statement at the start of the campaign for the September election. Mr Morrison has played down the prospect of an early election and insisted the government can hold power in the lower house despite only having 75 of the 150 seats after losing the Wentworth byelection.