Labor gains as Shorten slips in Newspoll

Labor has pulled away from the Turnbull government in the latest Newspoll, although leader Bill Shorten has lost more ground as preferred prime minister.

Labor now lead the coalition 52 to 48 in the two-party preferred vote, according to the Newspoll, published on Sunday night.

However, Mr Shorten has slipped two points to a 30 per cent approval rating, marking the longest negative satisfaction rating of any opposition leader.

The poll comes as Labor prepares for a handful of by-elections across Australia after four of their MPs were forced to quit over their citizenship status. The fifth was triggered by WA Labor MP Tim Hammond's shock resignation.

The poll shows the coalition has lost one point in the primary vote (38), while Labor remains unchanged at 38.

Meanwhile, One Nation managed a two-point rise to claim eight per cent of the popular vote while the Greens stayed on nine per cent and the other minor parties dropping to seven per cent.