Former Liberal leader John Hewson (pictured centre) says Malcolm Turnbull needs to stand up to Tony Abbott in the party room. Credit:Andrew Meares "In those circumstances, I'd call him out," he said. But he said while Mr Turnbull failed to implement a proper policy that drove new energy investment it would be Mr Abbott's attention-grabbing statements from the conservative right that would define the government to voters. "It's a bit ironic but they [voters] elect governments to take the hard decisions and when you don't take them you look really weak," he said. But a senior minister defended the Prime Minister's restrained handling of the Abbott-led climate insurgency, saying the policy, which is expected to go before cabinet within days or weeks, would aim to deliver reliability, affordability and to achieve emissions reductions consistent with Australia's Paris commitment as a by-product.

Former Liberal leader John Hewson. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen It was suggested that the policy, likely to adopt a hybrid approach, could even land in a political "sweet spot" by forcing Mr Abbott to choose between falling in behind it, or perhaps voting with Labor in opposing it. Labor has floated the idea of backing a clean energy target but is unlikely to support a policy that falls short of that mechanism. Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg hinted that the government will sidestep the final outstanding recommendation from chief scientist Alan Finkel for a clean energy target, in favour of a clutch of other measures. However, Dr Hewson believes Mr Abbott is not Mr Turnbull's biggest problem, which is more the Prime Minister's reluctance to openly confront his predecessor.

He said Mr Turnbull should draw a line in the sand in the full knowledge that adopting a progressive clean energy target would spark a reaction from Mr Abbott and his small coterie of supporters. He said Mr Abbott would "make a bit of noise" and there would be "a few that would back him", but ultimately mainstream voters would applaud a Prime Minister who stood up for his beliefs. Dr Hewson said the alternative facing Mr Turnbull was to accept that his government would be defined as much by Mr Abbott as himself. "How long do you want to sit back and be beaten up, because that's what Abbott's doing," he told Fairfax Media. "Abbott's taking every opportunity, you know, day in, day out, to undermine Turnbull, it doesn't really matter what the issue is."

Dr Hewson who unsuccessfully led the Coalition to the 1993 election, said voters wanted to believe in the Turnbull government but needed to see the Prime Minister stand up to critics and stand up for its principles. "It's time for Malcolm to just take a stand and I think the electorate is looking for him to show leadership on so many issues. I think the the electorate would cut him a lot of slack for doing so," he said. Addressing a climate sceptics meeting in London on Monday, Mr Abbott railed against climate change dogma, suggesting it had done more harm to the world than global warming itself, which was probably a net benefit because more people died from cold snaps than heatwaves. A former close ally of Mr Abbott, Mr Frydenberg rounded on his former boss's London comments. "We take our advice from the scientific experts. We believe we need to reduce our emissions. That is why Tony Abbott signed up to the Paris agreement. I point out that, at the time, Tony Abbott said that the agreement Australia struck at Paris was a definite commitment and that it was economically responsible and environmentally responsible. They were Tony Abbott's words," he said.

But while Mr Turnbull was being urged to stand up to Mr Abbott, another longstanding MP, speaking on background, said Mr Abbott had a right to speak out because there was a multiplicity of views on climate change across the party and the community, and because, "there is always going to be a response when you tear down a first-term prime minister". Follow us on Facebook