Mark Twain, the famous American novelist, on reading his obituary in a newspaper, wrote to the editor saying "rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated".
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The same could also be said of the Albanese government which, after being pummelled by the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune for much of the year, is being written off as a one term wonder by some.
While Labor has not been travelling well, usually as a result of crises of its own making, it is hard to see the LNP grasping victory from the jaws of defeat come the next election.
Labor's immediate challenge is to turn things around over the long winter break or to face a real possibility of being forced into minority government in its second term.
Recent polls have made fascinating reading. Roy Morgan charted a shift in the two-party preferred vote from 50-50 in early June to 46 per cent for the ALP and 47 per cent for the LNP this week.
On these numbers, given the current composition of the cross bench and solid support for the Greens, there is no possible path to government for Mr Dutton even though he has closed the gap between himself and Mr Albanese on their respective satisfaction ratings.
In early June 43 per cent were satisfied with Mr Albanese's performance compared to 39 per cent for Mr Dutton. Polling released this week saw Mr Albanese slip one per cent to 42 per cent and Mr Dutton slip one per cent to 38 per cent. But, more significantly, dissatisfaction with Mr Dutton's performance rose five points to 54 per cent.
A deeper dive into recent polling suggests the LNP's nuclear policy has not had the cut through effect it had been hoping for. Asked if they strongly approved or disapproved of nuclear 28 per cent came out against, compared to 19 per cent in favour.
While the government has had a bad run on immigration, the release of the detention detainees into the community and the latest self-induced crisis involving Senator Payman, these can all be turned around or at least pushed into the background before the poll.
Mr Dutton's "crash or crash through" nuclear policy, on the other hand, is not something that is fixable or that can be unsaid. With community sentiment likely to firm up as the election draws nearer this could be a toxic albatross hanging around the neck of the LNP that may threaten key regional seats.
The LNP was doing much better when it focussed on ministers O'Neil and Giles, immigration and the cost of living crisis.
While Labor missed an opportunity to keep Senator Payman in the tent by offering to revisit its "solidarity" rules, her decision to quit the ALP and move to the cross benches will lower the temperature. After all Parliament does not resume until August 12.
The long break offers the PM an opportunity for a cabinet reshuffle which, as the ministry has remained unchanged for over two years, is probably timely in any case. Given the Home Affairs and the Immigration ministers have had targets on their backs for quite some time they might even appreciate a rest.
The spectre of a religiously based campaign against ALP members in seats with significant Muslim minority populations is unlikely to unseat many - if any - sitting MPs.
Single issue candidates have rarely fared well in Australian politics and the Islamic community is far more diverse and intellectually aware than some pundits would like to believe.
The next election is, as always, the government's to lose. The ALP needs to regain control of the narrative and to stop giving its opponents oxygen.
