Fewer than one in three Australians want either Anthony Albanese or Peter Dutton as their prime minister but the contest between the two parties is heating up.

The latest Newspoll survey for The Australian showed only 28 per cent of voters nominated Albanese and Dutton as their preferred leaders of Labor and and the Coalition, ahead of five other chosen candidates.

For Labor, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek was backed by 13 per cent of voters while former leader Bill Shorten was the third pick among voters with 10 per cent support averaged across all demographics.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers enjoyed 8 per cent support.

For the Coalition, opposition Indigenous affairs spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was the next most favoured behind Dutton on 14 per cent followed by deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley at 6 per cent.

Though the results are unfavourable, Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce said Australia was still in need of a strong leader.

“What people want is not a populist,” he told Sunrise on Monday.

“They want someone who’s strong, they want someone who they can rely on.

“If you want a populist, then we don’t need a leader, AI will do it … but what a nation needs is leadership.”

The poll showed the Coalition’s primary vote lifted two points to 38 per cent while Labor’s also rose a point to 33 per cent in a difficult fortnight for the government, which included the defection of Senator Fatima Payman to the crossbenches over her support for a Palestinian state.

On a two-party-preferred basis, Labor continues to lead the Coalition by 51 per cent to 49 per cent – unchanged from the previous poll.

But a different poll conducted for the Australian Financial Review has found the Coalition leads on a two-party-preferred basis with 51 per cent over Labor’s 49 per cent.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesperson Simon Birmingham said the Coalition was ensuring the next election would be a “genuine contest”.

“We are not being a small target, but offering a clear choice to the Australian people between a weak Albanese government … versus Peter Dutton,” he said in Canberra.

If the review’s result is replicated at the next federal election, Labor could lose as many as seven seats, leaving it as the leader of a minority government.

Shorten said the polling indicated voters wanted the government to concentrate on cost-of-living issues.

“As we know, there’s been tax cuts come through, cheaper medicines, we’re tackling the Medicare, the superannuation is up,” he told Sunrise.

Support for the Greens remained unchanged at 13 per cent in the Newspoll. Backing for those in the “others” category – minority parties and ­independents – dipped two points to 10 per cent.

The survey showed One Nation was down one point to 6 per cent.

The Newspoll was conducted ­between July 15-19 and interviewed 1258 voters throughout Australia.

– AAP