Abbott not govt's main problem: Hewson

Tony Abbott's team has turned out to be surprisingly unprepared for the reality of government, former Liberal leader John Hewson says.

Dr Hewson says the federal government won office on "dot point" policies but desperately needs to flesh them out to stay in charge.

"I think a lot of damage has been done to a new government which has burnt an enormous amount of political capital," he told a Brisbane conference.

His comments come after Mr Abbott narrowly avoided a leadership spill and follows ongoing leadership speculation.

Dr Hewson predicted the lack of political vision would persist.

"It's not just, in my mind, simply a question of changing the jockey - the horse is crook," he said.

He said Mr Abbott had led the best opposition in Australia's history but won government with a "lowest common denominator" pitch that didn't suit the complexity of successful government.

Dr Hewson said he was hopeful someone would set the agenda for the country's future, irrespective of short-term political risks.

"(But) I don't see that there's much chance of that happening in current circumstances on either side of politics," he said.

Dr Hewson was speaking at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia's economic and political overview forum.