Aust Network's merits under review: PM

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has added to mounting speculation the government is considering axing the ABC-run Australia Network.

Mr Abbott repeated the coalition's concerns about the tender process under which the previous government awarded the ABC the $223 million contract for the television network indefinitely.

Asked if there was merit in running the broadcast service as a type of soft diplomacy, Mr Abbott replied: "It's obviously important to put our best foot forward.

"Whether that's the best way to do it, whether there aren't other good ways of doing it, that's something that we'll consider in the weeks and months ahead," Mr Abbott told ABC TV.

The network beams programs into the Asia-Pacific region.