JOURNALIST David Marr, in the new Quarterly Essay hitting shops today, recalls the minister in the Howard government who liked to improvise on his feet and think off-script.

Unusually for a conservative, Tony Abbott favoured activist government. ''That Howard allowed him such a long rein used to exasperate his colleagues, often the same ones who despaired on his stream of suggestions for Canberra's intervention,'' Marr writes. He then quotes Peter Costello. ''[Abbott] used to tell me proudly that he had learned all of his economics at the feet of Bob Santamaria. I was horrified.''

Fast forward to the here and now, and we see the same basic dynamic in action, except this time Abbott is the Coalition leader and the interventionist he's indulging is Queensland's Barnaby Joyce.

A new generation of Liberal rationalists roll their eyes about this state of affairs just like Costello used to. ''Joycenomics'' cops an absolute hiding in private, and Abbott is blamed for lacking the basic economic policy orthodoxy to keep the free-wheeling Queenslander in check.

Tension has been building inside the Coalition for some time between the free marketeers and the populist interventionists. Last week the back-biting finally hit the public domain. Liberals sought to draw a line in the sand, taking on Joyce for his public opposition to the Chinese acquisition of Cubbie Station.

Indeed, for some time there's been concern in Canberra about the relentless march of Queensland - or at least the Queensland Joyce represents. Rationalist Liberals really loathe the old National Party faction. But there are broader concerns.

Queensland does not have Liberals and Nationals existing separately but as a merged entity, the Liberal National Party, with an ambitious organisation keen to ensure its successes don't go unheralded.

For some time, Liberals from south of the Tweed have kept a nervous eye on the swagger and the aspiration, viewing it as not only unseemly but corrosive to national imperatives. The question has been, how far will it go if Abbott wins The Lodge?

Would the LNP seek to create its own distinct parliamentary caucus in Canberra and sit separately in order to maximise its internal lobbying power? Would there be a demand for a specific number of LNP ministries tied to the level of electoral representation? And, of course, there would be the deputy prime ministership up for grabs.

None of these potential scenarios are seen as positives, notwithstanding the fact that LNP representatives in Canberra, philosophically speaking, are a broad church. Many Queenslanders don't have the same world view as Barnaby Joyce, and would in fact cringe at the thought.

Sensible Queensland folk insist the separate caucus won't happen, even if it was sought, because too many long-serving MPs in Canberra don't like the idea. It doesn't stop people worrying about it though, and about policy direction.

Foreign investment is cited as a case in point.

Tensions spilt over last week because rationalist Liberals felt they had already been pushed as far as they intended to be pushed on the subject of future foreign acquisitions of agricultural land.

The Coalition recently announced its intention to tie up future overseas purchasers in red tape to appease Nationals under the pump at home over foreigners buying the farm. Electoral sensitivity on this subject is off the charts in Coalition polling.

But some Liberals really hated the policy concession, in part because it sent a poor message for a country so reliant on foreign investment. Some contend Abbott has really copped it from business, and that's bad for the Coalition federally.

So when Joyce started freelancing about the Chinese proposal for Cubbie Station, tempers frayed.

There's been a lot of different analysis of this issue over the past few days. Whether Joyce was playing a bit of down home politics because he's in relentless pursuit of a lower house seat; or whether the Coalition was playing the politics by speaking out of both sides of its mouth - Joyce pandering to the front bar at the Dirranbandi pub, and shadow treasurer Joe Hockey carpeting him because Hockey was playing to the CBD.

Possibly both things are true. But this issue goes beyond politicking. It's a genuine philosophical schism that will be very hard for Abbott to manage, now and down the track. These are fundamentally different world views in play here, and sincerely held on all sides.

Rationalist Liberals contend that retro Queensland ain't done yet. They point to another fight looming on national competition policy - an internal scrap with a long history.

Queensland Nationals battled Costello during the Howard years for legal protections for farmers and small business. Costello resisted as much as he could - prioritising the interests of consumers. But with the uber-protectionist Bob Katter splitting the right vote in the Sunshine State, this issue is on slow simmer. How will Abbott respond?

Containing unwelcome outbreaks from Queensland is not, of course, a challenge vexing only rationalist Liberals. You've noticed Kevin from Brisbane? He's here to help. Several times a day. In schools. In the Brisbane mall. On Twitter. On YouTube. Subtle as a meat axe.

In national politics, Queensland is here to help. Always, and for ever.

Katharine Murphy is national affairs correspondent.

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