On Tuesday the federal government announced that Tony Abbott would fly to Melbourne for urgent talks with Denis Napthine about the demise of Alcoa in Geelong and Victoria's manufacturing jobs crisis more broadly.

All very well. The Prime Minister's people wanted to show he was on the front foot, that he understood it was tough times for the people of Geelong and that he understood the state economy has been experiencing a period of ''structural adjustment''.

Problem was, no one bothered to confirm the meeting with Napthine. The Premier's position was clear. Unless Abbott had something concrete to announce, the meeting would be difficult, particularly during a busy parliamentary sitting week. Unlike past premiers Napthine does not have the option of playing hookey from Parliament for the sake of a few happy snaps, lest he miss a vote.

After a flurry of calls between Melbourne and Canberra, a compromise of sorts was reached on Tuesday night. Napthine would meet Abbott and Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane early the next morning. But there would be no news conference, only a picture opportunity, with a short statement from Abbott foreshadowing federal help in coming weeks.

Sure enough, the next morning, Abbott appeared for the cameras with Napthine poring over a giant map showing a possible route for a second stage of the east-west link. There was no time for questions from journalists.