Mr Turnbull is trumpeting Barnaby Joyce's thumping victory in Saturday's New England byelection as evidence there is still strong public support for the Coalition, despite its recent woes.

Mr Joyce is expected to return to Canberra this week after securing a massive 64 per cent of the primary vote in the byelection, which was ordered after the High Court found he was a dual citizen.

Mr Turnbull admitted the government had faced some "tough issues" in 2017 but said Saturday's result was a "big vote of confidence" in the government.

"The swing to Barnaby was higher than the Labor Party's primary vote. So it was a very emphatic swing," he told Sky News.

The Prime Minister says he has a big agenda for 2018 - including personal income tax cuts - as he seeks to put the divisive debates over same-sex marriage and the banks, not to mention the citizenship crisis, behind him.

"Step by step we're getting barnacles off the boat, we're making real changes that are resulting in real jobs and real investment," he said.

"I have every confidence that I will lead the Coalition to the next election in 2019 and we will win it. Because we are putting in place the policies that deliver for the Australian people."

Mr Joyce has vowed to reinstate discipline in his party's ranks when he returns to Canberra but also suggested there is "jealousy" among some Liberal colleagues over the Nationals' influence over recent policy debates.

Mr Joyce said the Nationals "stand up for themselves" and would continue to drive "the day-to-day iterations within the policy debate which we put our fingerprints all over".

Mr Joyce said it wasn't clear when he would resume his seat in Parliament but he was "not in a big hurry". Party sources say it could be as soon as this Wednesday.

"I just want to take a day off. It's a hectic time, a campaign. But no doubt people want me down there as quickly as possible," he said.

He said he'd already started helping stitch Coalition relations back together, having most of his Nationals team in Tamworth on Saturday night to celebrate his victory alongside Mr Turnbull.

The Prime Minister has been battling rebellion from a number of Nationals MPs in Mr Joyce's absence, particularly over the banking royal commission. Mr Turnbull announced a royal commission on Thursday after it become clear the rebels had the numbers in Parliament to set up an inquiry without the executive's support.

"There are 226 individuals and each of them will from time-to-time express views that are not necessarily ideal from their leaders point of view. But that's democracy," Mr Turnbull said.

"Having Barnaby back as leader is obviously very important," he said. "I am very confident we will be able to see a disciplined approach to teamwork within the coalition."

In a lengthy interview on Sunday morning, Mr Turnbull also promised that "there will be no preference deals with One Nation at the next federal election, full stop."

Mr Joyce reiterated his call for a referendum on changes to Section 44 of the Constitution dealing with citizenship - suggesting a model in which someone born in Australia could sit in Parliament unless they had actively sought a second citizenship. He said the current situation was "patently absurd".