Shorten says PM thinking of snap poll

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten believes Malcolm Turnbull is considering calling a snap election to sort out his problems.

Mr Shorten said the prime minister needed to concentrate on making the 45th Parliament work by putting the nation first, not himself.

"There is a very real chance that Malcolm Turnbull is considering calling a snap election in the mistaken belief that this will sort out his own problems," he told reporters in Brisbane.

Asked what evidence he had for suggesting there would be another election, Mr Shorten said only that the prime minister had promised stability and justified the election by changing the Senate voting rules.

"What he's done is given a very unpredictable Senate ... we have extreme parties now in the Senate and this is leading to instability."

He also pointed to what he said was instability in the ranks of the Liberal Party.

"Mr Turnbull may be tempted to say this is all too hard and he will go to an early election and put himself first but not the nation," Mr Shorten said.