Abbott wants to be useful

Tony Abbott is not seeking any "advancement" to the coalition frontbench, but he wants to be as useful as he can in the next federal parliament.

For the time being, the former prime minister is focused on his northern Sydney electorate, keeping his head down and staying out of trouble.

Mr Abbott, in a wide-ranging interview with The Conversation, praised Labor leader Bill Shorten for having a plan - albeit a bad one.

"At least he's had the guts to come up with a plan," he told Michelle Grattan, labelling it a tax-and-spend-and-borrow plan.

Mr Abbott doubts his successor Malcolm Turnbull will take the Liberal Party in a different direction should the coalition win the July 2 poll.

"As party leader you are very much a product of the party in a way that you aren't quite when you are simply a senior frontbencher," he said.

Asked whether he would like to serve on the frontbench again, should the opportunity arise, Mr Abbott said it was up to the prime minister.

"I'm not asking for advancement. I'm not expecting advancement," he said.

Mr Abbott has been staying out of the spotlight, joining colleagues in North Queensland, the NSW Central Coast and in Victoria.

And he's up for a fight on home soil against independent candidate James Mathison, a former host of Australian Idol.

"There's a world of difference between hosting a TV program and being a strong and effective member of parliament," he said.

On the issue of constitutional recognition of indigenous Australians, Mr Abbott hopes a referendum proposal will crystalise in the next few months.

He will not support same-sex marriage in any plebiscite after the election, but says he would respect enabling legislation should Australians vote yes.

Mr Abbott strongly defended the government's planned changes to superannuation tax concessions.

"We're acting in a responsible, prudent way," he said.

Mr Abbott also hopes to patch-up relations with former Speaker Bronwyn Bishop and is willing to campaign for Sophie Mirabella, the former high-flying Liberal frontbencher who is hoping to win back the seat of Indi in northern Victoria.