Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison saw a hawkish stance on China as an electoral strength. But weeks out from an election, his conservative Liberal Party is on the back foot on national security, accused by the Opposition Labor Party of bungling diplomacy in the Pacific and making Australia "less secure".

University of Sydney professor Simon Jackman, who studies the major issues for Australian voters in elections, said a perceived threat from another country has not been an election focus since the Cold War.

"For a younger set of voters there is nothing (like that) in living memory," he said in an interview.

Behind in the polls, Morrison's Liberal government had pointed to its stances on China as a reason to support his party, and claimed without evidence that Beijing was backing the Labor opposition.

Now Labor is highlighting the Liberal government’s failings on national security, its alleged neglect of Pacific diplomacy, and the sale of the northern port of Darwin to a Chinese company on a 99-year lease.

Morrison on Sunday said that if China built a base in the Solomon Islands, it would be a "red line" for Australia.

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