Attorney-General George Brandis’ job will come under intense pressure after a damning parliamentary inquiry report on Tuesday recommended he be censured for misleading parliament.

The report only compounded a day of bad news for the Prime Minister after a rookie Labor MP dubbed Malcolm Turnbull “a dud” after the latest Newspoll showed voter support for the Opposition is at its highest since Mr Turnbull took control 14 months ago.

The Newspoll was published in The Australian just hours before Labor MPs voted down Immigration Minister Peter Dutton’s proposed lifetime ban on refugees who arrive boat ever re-entering Australia.

Later Tuesday, the Labor-dominated Senate committee found that Mr Brandis, contrary to his claims, did not consult solicitor-general Justin Gleeson before banning ministers, including the prime minister, from seeking advice from the solicitor-general without notifying him first.

The report, tabled in parliament on Tuesday evening, recommends the Senate disallow the change, or that Senator Brandis withdraw it immediately. 

Labor Senator Louise Pratt told the senate that the Attorney- General is unfit to hold office.

Labor will move on Thursday to disallow Mr Brandis’ amendment with the support of The Greens and Nick Xenophon Team.

It’s unlikely any censure will be moved this week as notice must be given.

“This inquiry has clearly demonstrated the unfitness of the attorney-general to hold his high office,” Labor frontbencher Louise Pratt, who chairs the committee, said.

“The solicitor-general was not consulted on the direction, he was not informed of its development.”

Liberal backbencher Ian Macdonald slammed the committee.

“It is a committee of the Labor Party and the Greens, wasting Senate resources on political witch-hunts,” he told parliament.

He said Mr Gleeson, who resigned after telling the inquiry he was not consulted on the change, had made “unfortunate decisions”.

“He knows that it is not appropriate for him to tell the world about who he was giving advice to.”

Senator Brandis insists he did consult Mr Gleeson.

The inquiry found it was improper for Senator Brandis to make the change, which constrained the independence of the solicitor-general, demonstrating “his lack of competence to hold the office of attorney-general”.

The fact Senator Brandis continued to insist he had acted appropriately provided further evidence he should be discharged from his responsibilities, the report said.

In a dissenting report, government senators said the independence of the solicitor-general was not in any way endangered by Senator Brandis’ amendment.

Turnbull a ‘dud’

Labor MP Emma Husar, voted in at the last election, told media the Newspoll figures showed Mr Turnbull couldn’t do the job.

Labor MP Emma Husar says Malcolm Turnbull is a ‘dud’. Photo: AAP

When asked how she could then explain Bill Shorten’s dissatisfaction rating sitting higher than the prime minister’s, Ms Husar was less enthused about the legitimacy of the figures.

“The polls also showed I was going to lose the election, they’re a dime a dozen,” she backtracked.

Latest Newspoll figures show Mr Turnbull’s Liberal Party trailing Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s Labor Party 47 per cent to 53 on a two-party preferred basis – a 3.4 per cent swing that would win Labor the election if it were held now.

The numbers represent a mirror image of the same poll exactly one year ago, when Labor trailed the Liberal Party 47 per cent to 53.

The only good news for the government was a one-point lift in Mr Turnbull’s satisfaction to 30 per cent – however it was offset by a one point lift in dissatisfaction.

Satisfaction with Mr Shorten did not move from 36 per cent.

Refugee ban in doubt

Later, parliament considered the contentious proposal to prevent any asylum seekers who travelled to Australia by boat from 2013 from ever gaining entry again.

It would also prevent refugees who eventually settle in third party countries from entering even as tourists.

Before introducing the bill to parliament on Tuesday, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton called the vote “a test” for Mr Shorten.

Today's visa legislation is a matter of national security. A test for @billshortenmp. Does he stand for strong borders?

— Peter Dutton (@PeterDutton_MP) November 7, 2016

“It’s time for Mr Shorten to stare down the left of his party,” he wrote in a series of Tweets.

The outcome was not the one Mr Dutton sought to tease out, with the entire Federal Labor caucus voting against the bill and leaving its success in the hands of crossbenchers.

With the Greens also in opposition, only three votes were needed to defeat the bill.

Asylum seekers resettled in other countries would be banned. Photo: Getty

During Question Time on Tuesday, after Labor had voted against the bill, the Prime Minister told parliament Mr Shorten was “trivialising” people smuggling by mentioning it in the same breath as “tourism”.

“So it’s tourism now, is it? Is that how the Labor Party regards people smuggling?” Mr Turnbull asked.

“Is that how they regard the lives of thousands of people put at risk by some of the most evil criminals in the world?”

After plans for the ban were revealed on Sunday, Mr Shorten called the idea “ridiculous” and accused Malcolm Turnbull of “sucking up to One Nation to keep his job”.