Overall support for the Coalition has dropped to a three-month low, according to a Newspoll conducted by The Australian.

The Coalition has sunk three points in the primary vote to 38 per cent, its lowest rating since July.

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Meanwhile, the gap between the Labor party and the Coalition widened, with Labor leading by six points on a two-party-preferred basis.

Although support for the coalition dipped Tony Abbott remained preferred Prime Minister, ahead of Labor leader Bill Shorten by one point.

The poll found the majority of voters supported Mr Abbott’s tough stance towards Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Abbott promised to “shirtfront” Mr Putin over the MH17 incident if he attends the G20 conference in Australia.

The strongest support for Abbott’s hardline stance on Mr Putin came from men, Coalition supporters and voters over 35.

However, Mr Shorten, who agreed that Mr Putin was not welcome in Australia but criticised Mr Abbott’s use of strong language, suffered the greatest drop in the poll.

Forty-six per cent of voters were dissatisfied with Mr Shorten’s performance, a three-point increase on last month.

This is the highest dissatisfaction score for Mr Shorten since he gained Labor leadership a year ago.

Mr Shorten’s approval rating also dropped to a three-month low and his net satisfaction rating fell six points.