Abbot is doing only what he has to do to beat his opponents, and sadly that isn't much. As most know Gillard is poison and the electors no longer listen to or trust her. To be fair it is not solely her responsibility as there are those that have put and held her in place.
There seems a widely expressed view from most media commentators that Abbot has little policy, and doubts about his and his supporters ability to come up with or even recognize good policy.
Until and if the ALP gets its act together which looks extremely unlikely, Abbott and his crew will gain Govt without having to outline and defend much of anything. The voters as the primary support suggest are sick of the current ALP.