Ousted Liberal Party senator and former ACT chief minister Gary Humphries says the next few years will be tough and the Abbott government should help out.

''The federal government must remember that if it sneezes then Canberra catches cold,'' he said. ''It [the federal government] has a higher order of responsibility for this city than for others where the role of the federal government is far less significant.''

Gallagher's proposal for a Holden-style structural adjustment package for Canberra was ridiculed by News Corp on Monday. One columnist said any special funding should be used to build a Berlin-like wall around the city to keep the socialists inside.

Federal Public Service Minister Eric Abetz reportedly says structural adjustment assistance (for the ACT) would be a hard sell.

''With the nation's lowest unemployment it will be difficult to justify any special package for the ACT,'' he said.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says the only assistance will be in the form of ''unfunded'' redundancy payouts.

Mr Humphries said the challenges facing the ACT were very real. He dismissed the latest outbreak of Canberra bashing as unhelpful and immature.

''It is immature in the extreme to belittle the national capital and the people who live here just to sell a newspaper,'' he said.

''Canberra is a great Australian success story.

''It is amazing narrow-minded people can [still] denigrate it in this way.

''Canberra is facing a massive restructuring of its economy; there will be a big loss of economic vigour.''

ALP Member for Canberra, Gai Brodtmann, agrees.

''The best thing the Abbott government can do for Canberra is to protect jobs,'' she said.

''[They should] show respect for Canberra and the public service. The public sector and the private sector are very interdependent.''

Ms Brodtmann declined to comment on the latest round of Canberra bashing on the grounds that to do so would be too dignify it above its station. ''Canberra is 100 years old; we know we are the best city in the world.''

The lessons of 1996, when major public service cutbacks were taking effect after the election of the Howard government, needed to be remembered.

''There was a knock-on effect across Canberra and across the region out to Yass and down the coast,'' she said. ''It affected population growth, housing prices and businesses - every level of economic activity.''

She does not believe the ACT's low level of unemployment should be used to deny it assistance.

''That makes it OK then - to get rid of public servants then?'' she said. ''This gets back to saying the Holden workers should feel liberated [now their jobs are going].''

Mr Humphries, who said the Abbott government deserved credit for not going ahead with its planned 12,000 public service job cuts after the disclosure the Rudd government had already axed 14,500, believes Canberra is a special case.

''I do support a measure, or measures, of some sort to offset what will be a significant reduction in spending,'' he said.

''This should not necessarily be on a dollar in/dollar out basis but significant enough to show that the federal government has confidence in Canberra and its people even while it makes decisions that will hurt this city.''

Mr Humphries said that even in the midst of deep cuts to the public service in Canberra in 1996, 1997 and 1998 the Howard government had found money to build here.

''Tony Abbott will, one day, be in the same class as Menzies and Howard if he shows that [like them] he views Canberra as a place worth investing in.''

Senator Zed Seselja, who ousted Mr Humphries from the ACT Liberal senate ticket in February, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.