Fairfax Media can reveal the cabinet meeting, which will be held on Tuesday afternoon and all day Wednesday, was scheduled some time ago but cabinet ministers now expect the government's political woes to feature prominently. Prime Minister Tony Abbott addresses the media in Sydney on Sunday. Credit:Anthony Johnson Tuesday has been devoted entirely to planning and strategy for 2015. Mr Abbott is expected to begin the meeting by giving a "state of play" address. That will be followed by each cabinet minister setting out their policy priorities and plans for the next 12 months. Time has also been set aside for a political discussion, and it is in this portion of the meeting that Mr Abbott is expected to hear the frank views of colleagues dismayed at the precipitous drop in the government's fortunes.

One cabinet minister told Fairfax Media on the condition of anonymity that Mr Abbott's fortunes had moved "dramatically" in recent weeks and confirmed the government's political fortunes would now effectively feature as the top agenda item. Prime Minister Tony Abbott after attending St Marks Coptic Orthodox Church in Sydney. Credit:Anthony Johnson But that same minister stressed that no one was "stalking" Mr Abbott and that it was up to the Prime Minister to turn around his fortunes. "The question is does he have the confidence of the party room?" the minister asked. Liberals MPs are openly discussing Mr Abbott's future in the wake of the LNP's devastating rout in the Queensland state election, hitting the phones on Sunday to discuss potential options.

Former Howard government minister Mal Brough has not denied he is willing to challenge Mr Abbott, a move that would throw open a ballot and allow the more viable options of Foreign Minister Julie Bishop or Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull to also contest. Both have resisted calls to challenge Mr Abbott. Queensland LNP Senator Ian Macdonald told Fairfax Media on Sunday the "complicated issue" of the federal leadership needed to be carefully managed. "A direct challenge to Abbot is not the way to go in my view," he said. "But the question of where the party and Australia is going needs mature, careful and selfless consideration if we are going to avoid the sort of voter reaction that we have seen in Queensland and Victoria." Some Liberals fear if they move to knife Mr Abbott in the same way Labor dumped Kevin Rudd in his first term as prime minister, voters will think there is little difference between the two parties.

Mr Abbott on Sunday reminded voters he had been elected Prime Minister and said leadership was not a popularity contest. "The people of Australia elected me as Prime Minister … but in the end government is not a popularity contest it's a competence contest," he said. Mr Abbott, who was kept away from the state campaign because of his unpopularity, played down federal factors in the Queensland result but conceded his decision to make Prince Philip a knight had been a "distraction" for "a couple of days". "Obviously there are lessons from the result in Queensland. The lessons are not to give up on reform but to make sure that everything you propose is fully explained and well justified, and obviously that's a lesson we're determined to learn in Canberra as well," he said. Queensland Liberal National MP Wyatt Roy also delivered a rebuke to the Prime Minister on Sunday, pointing to an inability to explain the government's reform program.

The Longman MP declined to comment on whether he thought a challenge by Mr Brough was needed to bring the leadership tensions to a head or whether it was likely to succeed. Asked about the government's woes, Mr Roy said: "I think what the lesson from the Queensland election is that politics is different to how it has been in the past." "If the purpose of being in politics is to change the country for the better then we need to be very good at explaining complicated ideas, painting a vision for the future of the country, taking the public into our confidence and explaining how we can achieve that vision and the challenges that we face along the way." Fellow Queensland Liberal National backbencher Bert van Manen said the government needed to take a "good hard look" at how it engaged with the community but he cautioned against "knee-jerk reactions" to the state result. "The worst thing you can do in politics is make knee-jerk reactions to bad outcomes," he said.

Mr Abbott on Sunday acknowledged the government had been "tempted" to take the Senate – where it does not hold the balance of power – for granted in 2014. Amid the fallout from the Queensland result, NSW Liberal Party strategists are now considering asking Mr Abbott to stay out the NSW state election campaign entirely. Loading Fairfax Media has previously revealed party strategists believe Mr Abbott's unpopularity could cost them six or seven seats. Follow us on Twitter