TONY Abbott has told his Coalition colleagues not to shy away from intellectual debate ahead of a policy roundtable in Canberra this Friday hosted by the Liberal Party's think tank, the Menzies Research Centre.

A string of thinkers and public figures, including Noel Pearson, Peter Cosgrove, Alan Dupont and Ian Harper, as well as the former head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Peter Shergold, will take part in the meeting, convened at the Liberal leader's request.

"We have to be more prepared to take the battle to the Labor Party intellectually and fight the battle of ideas," Mr Abbott warned the opposition partyroom yesterday. He told the meeting "some of the smartest and deepest thinkers in Australia" would attend the meeting, while making a gibe at Kevin Rudd's 2020 Summit, convened in April 2008.

"This is going to be our own mini-summit, but there's not going to be a thousand people who have come along to agree with each other," he said.

MRC director Julian Leeser said the roundtable would "shake the tree" and build on the work of the opposition's policy review process: "It's a way of hearing from some great minds and test the ideas they've been developing."

Mr Leeser denied the roundtable was designed to float potentially problematic policy proposals at arm's length from the party. "The purpose is just to debate some of the ideas," he said.

"Tony likes vigorous debate. That's what he's brought to his role. He would like to see people genuinely toss around some of the difficult questions." Mr Leeser said the roundtable allowed figures from outside the opposition to become involved in policy formulation.

"We think that's where the centre can provide real value, bringing people who have significant standing in the community.

"We can bring them . . . into the practical policy debate and provide an interface between the party and substantial thinkers."

He took a shot of his own at Labor's summit. "The very fact that they had that 2020 Summit when they came to power was indicative that they used their time in opposition very poorly."

Frontbencher Andrew Robb said the opposition's policy development was "well advanced".

"We'll be ready for whenever they drop the flag," he said, adding the roundtable would help the opposition "test our thoughts".