As the third week of the campaign got under way, Labor has been buoyed by fresh polling that solidified its lead over the coalition, with the latest Newspoll showing the government ahead 52 to 48 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.
While 64 per cent of voters expected Labor to win the election compared to 36 per cent for the coalition, a minority Labor government was considered the most likely outcome.
When asked if he was worried about potentially squandering a large lead just like Northern Irish golfer McIlroy during the final round of the Masters golf tournament - which he later recovered to win the title - the prime minister said a victory at the polls would still be a challenge.
"We have a mountain to climb. I've been in 10 election campaigns, we won three out of 10, and one of those we won in minority. It is hard," he told reporters in Adelaide on Monday.
"I'm certainly not getting ahead of myself. It's hard to win an election. If you look around the world, it has been a difficult time to be in government because of global inflation."
Despite trailing in the polls for most of the year, Labor regained ground going into the election, with the coalition losing support after initially pledging to ban public servants from working from home.
A YouGov poll last week also put Labor ahead of the coalition, 52.5 per cent to 47.5 per cent, on a two-party-preferred basis, with suggestion Opposition Leader Peter Dutton could lose his Brisbane-based seat of Dickson at the May 3 poll.
But Mr Dutton rejected suggestions he was ignoring the needs of his own electorate as he campaigned across the country.
"It's a great part of the world, but the polling I've seen puts us in a comfortable position. I'm happy with that," he told reporters in Brisbane.
"If the prime minister's still continuing with the charade that he could form a majority government, I think people are seeing through that."
On primary votes, the Newspoll registered a one-point drop for the coalition to 35 per cent while Labor's support remained steady on 33 per cent..
The survey registered a seven-point rise in approval for Mr Albanese, leaving the prime minister on an overall reading of minus four, but Mr Dutton's net approval rating dipped two points to minus 19.
Mr Albanese's rating as being the better prime minister was up one point to 49 per cent while those preferring Mr Dutton in the role dipped two points to 38 per cent.
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