PM skols a beer at Sydney pub

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has channelled Bob Hawke and skolled a schooner of beer at a Sydney pub.

Mobile phone footage of Mr Abbott downing a schooner at a University of Technology awards night at Sydney's Royal Oak Hotel has gone viral on social media.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says he is pleased Mr Abbott has learned to drink beer without lemonade, a reference to the prime minister's penchant for a shandy.

Mr Hawke set a world record for skolling a yard of beer while he was at Oxford University in 1954 and in 2012 delighted cricket fans at the SCG when he skolled a beer at 82.

Health Minister Sussan Ley defended the prime minister's behaviour.

"Let's not overreact here," she told reporters in Brisbane.

Mr Abbott was one of the best advocates for leading a healthy lifestyle, Ms Ley said.

"If more people got up at 4.30 in the morning and went running and cycling and worked as hard as our PM to keep fit ... I think we'd have a healthier country," she said.