Prime Minister Tony Abbott says military aircraft are on standby following his conversation with the Russian President over the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

Mr Abbott told 2GB radio that “we have to punish the guilty”.

“We have to do our best to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” he said.

Mr Abbott said Vladimir Putin had said “all the right things”, though it was up to Australia to ensure that Russian authorities are held to account.

“He said all the right things,” he said.

“Now he has to be as good as his word. I will be speaking regularly to the Russian President to do my best to hold him to his word.”

Mr Abbott said Australian authorities were doing their best to gain access to secure the site, which is still substantially under the control of the Russian-backed rebels.

“It’s more like a garden clean up than a forensic investigation,” he said.

“This is just completely unacceptable.”

Mr Abbott said Australian authorities had been deployed to Kiev and military aircraft are on standby.

“We need to be able to do our part, play our part to ensure that we get justice for the dead and closure for the living,” he said.