The former prime minister reportedly told a meeting of Tasmanian Young Liberals on the weekend that he looked forward to "a Dutton government", however he declined to speculate on Peter Dutton's leadership ambitions.

"It's not about personalities. It's not about him, it's not about me," Mr Abbott told reporters in Canberra on Monday.

"It's about what is going to give Australians the best possible energy system that delivers affordable reliable power."

Mr Abbott said he had been railing against high power prices for the better part of two years, arguing keeping the Liddell coal-fired power station open had to be the first fix.

Ending subsidies for renewable energy, stopping price gouging by energy retailers and locking in new baseload power were next on his list.

Among other missteps, the government should withdraw from the Paris agreement on climate change.

It should also have stepped in to prevent the closure of Hazelwood power station in Victoria.

"The only way we can win the next election is to have a contest over policy not personalities," Mr Abbott said.

"We've got to be the party that is on the side of getting power prices down and let Labor be the party that is all about getting emissions down."

A Fairfax-Ipsos poll on Monday saw the coalition's primary vote drop six points to 33 per cent.

Australian Associated Press