Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has defended the Coalition's Question Time tactics, amid veiled criticism by former Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull.

In a speech delivered on Wednesday night, Mr Turnbull noted that the Opposition's Question Time focus for the past two years has been "almost entirely" focused on people smuggling and the carbon tax, and he questioned whether they are the only important issues facing Australia.

The comments have been interpreted by some as an attack on Mr Abbott's leadership, even though Mr Turnbull made clear in his speech that it was not a criticism of his leader.

Mr Abbott said he had spoken with Mr Turnbull "on a number of occasions" about the speech, and has today described it as "interesting and elegant".

"We are not a Stalinist party," Mr Abbott told Channel Nine.

"What he said was a perfectly reasonable take on current politics. There was a lot of truth in what Malcolm said."

Mr Abbott conceded Question Time was a "bit of a disaster", but he said that was because the Prime Minister and Treasurer did not tell the truth.

And he said the Coalition's focus on border protection issues and the carbon tax had been driven by Labor's incompetence.

"These are the two biggest failures of this government," he said.

"This is a government that has monumentally failed to control our borders - we have had record months for the past two months when it comes to illegal boat arrivals.

"And this is a government which is introducing a bad tax based on a lie, so of course these are the main question time preoccupations."

Liberal frontbencher Joe Hockey has also defended the Opposition's relentless pursuit of the Prime Minister, saying: "We only go for the weakest links".

Mr Turnbull's speech was a broader critique of the current political environment, arguing it has become increasingly difficult to have a rational and informed debate about policy.

He said the system too often rewarded "spin, exaggeration, misstatements".

"There is almost nothing more important to good government and our nation's future than the quality, honesty and clarity of political discourse," Mr Turnbull said in his speech.

"Yet paradoxically, there is almost nowhere else in our national life where the incentives to be untruthful or to purposefully mislead are so great, and the adverse consequences of such behaviour so modest."

Part of the problem, he said, was cutbacks to newsroom resources, meaning there are fewer journalists to hold politicians to account.

Mr Turnbull said that had resulted in media companies resorting more and more to opinion and commentary, because it is cheaper and easier than having a team of news reporters.

He also said that too often, journalists have been drawn into the political game, by praising politicians for their skilful use of spin.

"Commenting on the play takes a lot less time than painstakingly pointing out where the spin has misrepresented an issue," he said.