Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott says Russia must apologise and offer compensation to MH17 victims.

A Russian missile is confirmed to have shot down the Malaysian Airlines flight in 2014, killing 38 Australians.

Mr Abbott says Australia must make it crystal clear that “no one can kill Australians with impunity”.

He says if Russia continues to sit on their hands, expelling their ambassador from Australia is one form of appropriate action.

“The fact is they acted with reckless indifference to human life. This is an atrocity.

“Russia has to admit responsibility. It has to, at the very least, apologise and offer some kind of compensation to the families of the dead.

“If they don’t they have to suffer some consequences.”

The former prime minister says he expects the Russians will “tell us to get lost” and that cannot be tolerated.

“There has got to be a very serious and strong response.”

When it comes to the government’s energy policy, Mr Abbott maintains the proposed National Energy Guarantee should be taken to the party room before it heads to COAG in August.

“I’m very worried that what’s going to happen here is that we will go into that COAG meeting and in the end, to get a deal that the Labor states will agree to, we will do things that we would rather not do.

“Then it will all be presented to the party room as a done deal on a take it or leave it basis.

“I don’t think that’s good enough.”

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