But the person said it was ultimately Mr Abbott who was unpopular with the electorate and sacrificing Mr Hockey would be “a short-term fix”.

At a recent Sydney event hosted jointly by the Tax Institute and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, Mr Hockey said that as Australia increasingly becomes integrated into the Asia-Pacific region, more and more Australians will have the opportunity to participate in the wider Asian economy.

Junior minister Simon Birmingham has rejected “every single aspect” of a report saying Prime Minister Tony Abbott is being urged to dump his treasurer if the Liberal Party does badly in the Canning by-election.

Mr Hockey said the Prime Minister was a very loyal person and he warned his colleagues about disunity.

The internal chatter about the Treasurer appears to have raised the ire of some in the Government.

Both Mr Abbott and Mr Hockey dismissed Senator Sinodinos’ call for leaking colleagues to be sacked.

“The Prime Minister should sack any minister or adviser who is engaged in such deliberate leaking and destabilisation”.

Star performer Scott Morrison, the current social services minister, is widely tipped as Mr Hockey’s potential replacement as treasurer.

Mr Hockey said told radio station 2GB he could not account for the actions of cabinet colleagues who were backgrounding against him.

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull deflected questions about the issue while campaigning in the Perth seat of Canning with Liberal by-election candidate Andrew Hastie.

Treasurer Joe Hockey highlighted the attractiveness of the Australian market to overseas investors in comments to the Wall Street Journal last week, addressing speculation over the impact of the devalued Chinese currency on foreign markets.

“Not only does Joe have to deal with repairing the budget, we’re also dealing with irresponsible Labor senators who are refusing to pass measures in the Senate, including their own savings”, she said.

If there is a large swing against the government but it holds the seat, Mr Abbott will be under pressure to significantly reshuffle his frontbench before Christmas.

“What is clear is that only a government that is serious about budget fix can deliver lower taxes over time”, said Mr Hockey.