Aust sigh of relief for new PM: Labor

Australians are breathing a sigh of relief now that they have a prime minister who speaks in full sentences, Labor frontbencher Jason Clare believes.

In a rare display of praise for an opposing prime minister, the opposition's communications spokesman applauded Malcolm Turnbull's understanding of technology and voiced hope of renewed bipartisanship.

"There is a real opportunity now, I think, for the two parties to come together and work together on some big reforms that will set us up for the future," he told ABC radio on Thursday.

Mr Clare believes Australians were happy to see the back of former prime minister Tony Abbott, who was "extremely unpopular" before he was toppled by Mr Turnbull last week.

"There's no doubt the country is breathing a sigh of relief after Tony Abbott lost the prime ministership," he said.

"We've now got a prime minister who speaks in full sentences and says he wants to have a real debate with the Australian people and I welcome that."

Mr Clare was spruiking Labor's new innovation policy that aims to encourage university graduates to start their own businesses, particularly in the technology field.

The opposition would give 2000 students each year an income-contingent loan to help establish start-ups and the same number of graduate entrepreneurship visas to keep international students in Australia.

Mr Clare said while Mr Abbott had laughed at Labor plans to teach coding in primary schools, Mr Turnbull welcomed such ideas and presented a real opportunity for technological advances.

"He understands this as well as (Opposition Leader Bill Shorten) does," he said.

However, when pushed on why he was so complimentary, Mr Clare said it was hypocritical of Mr Turnbull and Deputy Liberal Leader Julie Bishop to have criticised Labor's leadership changes in the past.

Australians would also be thinking it was ordinary for a party to remove a first term prime minister, he said.

"Labor learnt a terribly hard lesson making that mistake in government," he said.