Candidate not at home for Abbott visit

Most candidates would love to have a former prime minister campaign with them.

But when Tony Abbott arrives in the Brisbane seat of Ryan on Thursday, the local candidate won't be there on the hustings.

Jane Prentice, the assistant minister for disability services, is in Darwin for the first of a series of roundtable meetings with the sector.

Mr Abbott will attend a fundraising event for the Liberal National Party in Ryan.

He's been billed as "a guest not to be missed".

Ms Prentice supported Malcolm Turnbull in last September's Liberal leadership spill and was rewarded in the ministerial reshuffle.

She tweeted a photograph of the start of her Darwin visit on Wednesday afternoon.

After Brisbane, the former prime minister is expected to head to Mackay to campaign with Dawson MP George Christensen.