Tony Abbott
Encyclopedia
Anthony John "Tony" Abbott (born 4 November 1957) is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives
and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia
. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah
since the 1994 by-election
. He was Minister for Employment Services
, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
, and Minister for Health and Ageing
in the Howard government
at various times from 1998 to 2007 and Leader of the House
from 2001 to 2007.
After the defeat of the Howard government at the 2007 federal election, he was Shadow Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs until he resigned from Malcolm Turnbull
's shadow cabinet
on 26 November 2009 in protest against Liberal Party support for an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Following a spill motion, Abbott defeated Turnbull 42 votes to 41 in a party leadership election
.
The 2010 federal election resulted in a hung parliament with the incumbent Labor
government led by Julia Gillard
, forming a minority government
after gaining support of an Australian Greens
MP and three independent MPs. Abbott was re-elected unopposed to the party leadership following the election.
, living first in the Sydney suburbs of Bronte
then moving to Chatswood
. Abbott was schooled at St Aloysius' College before completing his secondary school education at St Ignatius' College, Riverview in Sydney (both are Jesuit schools). He graduated with a Bachelor of Economics (BEc) and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Sydney
where he resided at St John's College
, and was president of the Student Representative Council. He gained media attention for his political stance opposing the then dominant left-wing student leadership. He was also a prominent student boxer. He then went on to attend the Queen's College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and graduated with a Master of Arts (MA) in Politics and Philosophy.
When Abbott was 19, his girlfriend became pregnant and believed Abbott to be the biological father. She was keen to get married but when Abbott refused she left him seven months into her pregnancy. She later gave birth to a son and had him adopted. For 27 years, Abbott believed that he fathered this child. In 2004, the boy sought out his biological mother and it was publicly revealed that the child had become an ABC
sound recordist who worked in Parliament House
, Canberra, and was involved in making television programs in which Abbott appeared. DNA testing later revealed that Abbott was not the man's father.
In 1983, he began studying for the Catholic
priesthood, and entered St Patrick's Seminary, Manly
. He subsequently decided to leave the seminary and choose another career path. Due to this time in the seminary, his strong Catholic faith, and his surname, Abbott was given the nickname "The Mad Monk" by his critics.
Throughout his time as a student and seminarian, Abbott was writing articles for newspapers and magazines—first for the Sydney University Newspaper, and later The Catholic Weekly and national publications like The Bulletin
. He eventually became a journalist and wrote for The Australian
.
In 1987, Abbott met his wife Margaret, with whom he has three daughters (Louise, Bridget and Frances).
, an influential news magazine, and The Australian Newspaper. He became well-known for his strongly worded criticism of trade union
s and left-wing politics. For a time he was a plant manager for Pioneer Concrete before becoming press secretary to the Leader of the Opposition, Dr John Hewson
from 1990 to 1993 and worked on the Fightback!
policy. Between 1993 and 1994 he was the Executive Director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy
.
Despite his right-wing leanings, Abbott has acknowledged he voted for Labor
in the 1988 NSW state election
as he thought "Barrie Unsworth
was the best deal Premier that New South Wales had ever had." Nevertheless, Abbott then clarified that he has never voted for Labor in a federal election.
for the Division of Warringah
at a by-election in March 1994
following the resignation of Michael MacKellar
. He served as the parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (1996–98), Minister for Employment Services (1998–2001), Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Small Business
(2001), Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations (2001–03) and Minister for Health and Ageing from 2003 to November 2007. From late 2001 to November 2007, he was also Manager of Government Business in the House of Representatives.
As a Parliamentary Secretary, Abbott oversaw the establishment of the Green Corps program which involved young people in environmental restoration work. As Minister for Employment Services, he oversaw the implementation of the Job Network and was responsible for the government's Work for the Dole
scheme. He also commissioned the Cole Royal Commission into "thuggery and rorts" in the construction industry and created the Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner in response and to lift productivity.
The Liberal Party allowed members a free choice in the 1999 republic referendum
. Abbott was one of the leading voices within the Party campaigning for the successful "No" vote, pitting him against future Parliamentary colleague and leading Republican Malcolm Turnbull
When Abbott was promoted to Cabinet in 2000, Prime Minister Howard described him as an effective performer with an endearing style, whereas the Opposition described him as a "bomb thrower." Howard appointed Abbott to the key Health Portfolio in 2003, during a period of contentious Medicare
reform and a crisis in Medical Indemnity Insurance, which was forcing doctors out of practice. Abbott worked with the states to address the crisis and keep the system running.
Abbott was involved in controversy in 2006 for opposing access to the abortion drug RU486, and the Parliament voted to strip Health Ministers of the power to regulate this area of policy. He introduced the Medicare Safety Net to cap the annual out-of-pocket costs
of Medicare cardholders to a maximum amount. In 2007 he attracted criticism over long delays in funding for cancer diagnostic equipment (PET
scanners).
According to Sydney Morning Herald Political Editor Peter Hartcher
, prior to the defeat of the Howard Government
at the Australian Federal Election, 2007, Abbott had opposed the Government's centrepiece Workchoices
industrial relations deregulation reform in Cabinet, on the basis that the legislation exceeded the government's mandate; was harsh on workers; and was politically dangerous to the government.
Abbott campaigned as Minister for Health at the 2007 Election. On 31 October, he apologised for saying 'just because a person is sick doesn't mean that he is necessarily pure of heart in all things', after Bernie Banton
, (an asbestos
campaigner and terminal mesothelioma
sufferer) called him 'gutless' for not being present to collect a petition.
During his career as a Minister, Abbott acquired a reputation as a robust parliamentary debater and political tactician.
and David Ettridge
. Prosecution ultimately resulted in Hanson & Ettridge being imprisoned. The conviction against Hanson was ultimately overturned, leading to criticism of a range of politicians for political interference by the adjudicating justice.
's rejection of the leadership of the Parliamentary Liberal Party, Abbott nominated for the position of party leader
, along with Malcolm Turnbull
and Brendan Nelson
. After canvassing the support of his colleagues, Abbott decided to withdraw his nomination. He seemingly did not have the numbers, noting that he was "obviously very closely identified with the outgoing prime minister." He also said he would not rule out contesting the leadership at some time in the future.
In December 2007, Abbott was assigned the Shadow Portfolio of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. As indigenous affairs spokesman, Abbott said that it had been a mistake for the Howard Government
not to offer a National Apology to the Stolen Generations.; spent time teaching at remote Aboriginal communities; and argued for the Rudd Government
to continue the Northern Territory National Emergency Response
which restricted alcohol and introduced conditional welfare in certain Aboriginal communities.
During this period in Opposition, Abbott wrote Battlelines - a biography and reflection on his thoughts on the Howard Government
, and a discussion of potential future policy directions for the Liberal Party
. In the book, Abbott said that in certain aspects the Australian Federation was 'dysfunctional' and in need of repair. He recommended the establishment of local hospital and School boards to manage health and education; and discussed family law reform; multiculuralism, climate change; and international relations. The book received a favourable review from former Labor Party speech writer Bob Ellis
, and The Australian
described it as 'read almost universally as Abbott's intellectual application for the party's leadership after the Turnbull experiment'.
The number of unauthorised boat arrivals to Australia increased in Australia during 2008. Abbott claimed that this was an effect of the Rudd Government's easing of border protection laws and accused Kevin Rudd
of ineptitude and hypocrisy on the issue of boat arrivals, particularly during the Oceanic Viking affair of October 2009
, and said "John Howard found a problem and created a solution. Kevin Rudd found a solution and has now created a problem".
In November 2009, Abbott resigned from shadow ministerial responsibilities due to the Liberal Party's position on the government's Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), leading to the resignation of other shadow ministers.
(See 2009 Liberal Leadership ballot
). Abbott proposed blocking the Rudd Government
's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)
in the Senate
whereas Turnbull sought to amend then pass the bill which the majority of the Liberal Party did not support. Abbott named his Shadow Cabinet on 8 December 2009.
Abbott described Prime Minister Rudd's Emission Trading plan as a 'Great big tax on everything' and opposed it. The Coalition and minor parties voted against the Government's ETS legislation in the Senate and the legislation was rejected. Abbott announced a new Coaltion policy on carbon emission reduction in February, which committed the Coalition to a 5 per cent reduction in emissions by 2020. Abbott proposed the creation of an 'emissions reduction fund' to provide 'direct' incentives to industry and farmers to reduce carbon emissions. In April, Rudd announced that plans for the introduction his ETS would be delayed until 2013.
When appointed to the Liberal leadership, the subject of Abbott's Catholicism and moral beliefs became a subject of repeated media questioning. Various commentators suggested that his traditionalist views would polarise female voters. Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard
accused Abbott of 'lecturing' women when he responded to a question from a women's magazine by saying that he would tell his own daughters that virginity was 'a gift' not to be given away 'lightly'. He told press gallery journalist Laurie Oakes
that he does not do doorstop interviews in front of church but regularly faces pointed questions about his faith which are not put to the prime minister, who attends Anglican services every week.
In a 60 Minutes interview aired on 7 March 2010, Abbott was asked: "Homosexuality? How do you feel about that?". He replied: "I'd probably feel a bit threatened ... as most people do." In a later interview Abbott said that the answer he gave had been a "spontaneous answer", and on the ABC's Q&A program he apologised and said that he had used a "very poor choice of words".
In March 2010, Abbott, announced a new policy initiative to provide for 6 months paid parental leave
, funded by an increase in corporate tax by 1.7 per cent on all taxable company income of more than $5 million. Business groups and the government opposed the plan, however it won support from the Australian Greens
.
During his time as Opposition Spokesman for Indigenous Affairs, Abbott spent time in remote Cape York
Aboriginal communities as a teacher, organised through prominent indigenous activist Noel Pearson. Abbott has repeatedly spoke of his admiration for Pearson, and in March 2010, introduced the Wild Rivers (Environmental Management) Bill to Parliament in support of Pearson's campaign to overturn the Queensland government's Wild Rivers legislation. Abbott and Pearson believe that the QLD law will 'block the economic development' of indigenous land, and interfere with Aboriginal land rights.
Abbott completed an Ironman Triathlon
event in March 2010 at Port Macquarie, New South Wales
and in April set out on a 9 day charity bike ride between Melbourne and Sydney, the annual Pollie Pedal, generating political debate about whether Abbott should have committed so much time to physical fitness. Abbot described the events as an opportunity to "stop at lots of little towns along the way where people probably never see or don't very often see a federal member of Parliament."
In his first Budget reply speech as Opposition Leader, Abbott sought to portray the Rudd Government
's third budget as a "tax and spend" budget and promised to fight the election on the new mining "super-profits" tax proposed by Rudd
.
replaced Kevin Rudd
as Australian Labor Party
leader and Prime Minister of Australia
after it emerged that Rudd no longer held majority support within party caucus.
On 17 July, after receiving the agreement of the Governor-General, Prime Minister Julia Gillard
announced the next federal election would be held on 21 August 2010. Polls in the first week gave a view that Labor would be re-elected with an increased majority, with Newspoll
showing a lead of 10 points (55–45) two party preferred and the Essential poll similarly reflecting Newspoll.
The two leaders met for one official debate during the campaign. Studio audience surveys by the Channel 9
and Seven Network
suggested a win to Gillard. Unable to agree on further debates, the leaders went on to appear separately on stage for questioning at community fora in Sydney and Brisbane. In Sydney on 11 August, Abbott's opening statement focused on his main election messages of government debt, taxation and asylum seekers. An audience exit poll of the Rooty Hill RSL audience accorded Abbott victory. Gillard won the audience poll at Broncos Leagues Club meeting in Brisbane on 18 August. Abbott also appeared for public questioning on the ABC's Q&A program on 16 August.
Labor and the Coalition each won 72 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives
, four short of the requirement for majority government
, resulting in the first hung parliament
since the 1940 election
.
Abbott and Gillard commenced a 17 day period of negotiation with the crossbenchers over who would form government. On the crossbench, four independent members, one member of the National Party of Western Australia
and one member of the Australian Greens
held the balance of power
. Following the negotiations, the incumbent Gillard Labor government formed a minority government
with the support of an Australian Greens
MP and three independent MPs on the basis of confidence and supply
, while another independent and the WA National gave their confidence and supply support to the Coalition, resulting in Labor holding a 76-74 tally of votes on the floor of the Parliament. The Coalition finished with 49.88 percent of the two party preferred vote. obtaining a national swing of around 2.58%.
During negotiations, the Independents requested that both major parties' policies be costed by the apolitical Australian Treasury. The Coalition initially resisted the idea, citing concerns over Treasury leaks, however the Coalition eventually allowed the analysis. Treasury endorsed Labor's budget costings but projected that Coalition policies would only add between $860 million and $4.5 billion to the bottom line (the Coalition had projected that its promises would add about $11.5 billion to the budget bottom line over the next four years).
were re-elected unopposed as leaders of the Liberal Party. Abbott announced his shadow ministry on 14 September, with few changes to senior positions, but with the return of former leadership rival Malcolm Turnbull
, whom he selected as Communications spokesman. Abbott announced that he wanted Turnbull to prosecute the Opposition's case against the Gillard Government
's proposed expenditure on a National Broadband Network.
Following the 2010–2011 Queensland floods
, Tony Abbott opposed plans by the Gillard government to impose a "flood levy" on taxpayers to fund reconstruction efforts. Abbott said that funding should be found within the existing budget. Abbott also announced a proposal for a taskforce to examine further construction of dams in Australia to deal with flood impact and food security.
In February 2011, Abbott criticised the Gillard government's handling of health reform and proposal for a 50-50 public hospitals funding arrangement with the states and territories, describing the revised Labor Party proposal as "the biggest surrender since Singapore". Abbott opposed Prime Minister Gillard's February 2010 announcement of a proposal for the introduction of a "carbon tax", and called on her to take the issue to an election. Abbott said that Gillard had lied to the electorate over the issue because Gillard and her Treasurer Wayne Swan
had repeatedly ruled out the introduction of a carbon tax in the lead up to the 2010 election.
In April 2011, Abbott proposed consultation with Indigenous people
over a bipartisan Federal Government intervention in Northern Territory towns like Alice Springs, Katherine and Tennant Creek which would cover such areas as police numbers and school attendance in an effort to address what he described as a "failed state" situation developing in areas of the Northern Territory. April also saw Abbott announce a $430 million policy plan to improve the employment prospects of people with serious mental health problems Australia.
Following the first Gillard Government
budget in May 2011, Abbott used his budget-reply speech to reiterate his recent critiques of government policy and call for an early election over the issue of a carbon tax. Rhetorically echoing Liberal party founder, Robert Menzies
, Abbott addressed remarks to the "forgotten families".
In June 2011 Abbott for the first time lead Julia Gillard
in the Newspoll
preferred Prime Minister.
In September 2011, Abbott announced a plan to develop an agricultural food bowl in the north of Australia
by developing dams for irrigation and hydroelectricity. Coalition task force leader Andrew Robb claimed that Australia currently produced enough food for 60 million people, but that the coalition plan could double this to 120 million people by 2040. The head of the Northern Australia Land and Water Taskforce expressed concerns with the economic and environmental viability of this plan as well as its effects on the Indigenous Australian communities in northern Australia.
from 1993-94. Arguing against the case for a republican system of government in Australia in 1999, Abbott outlined his beliefs on conservatism and the monarchy:
Abbott supports the argument espoused by former Prime Minister John Howard
and Justice Michael Kirby that Australia is presently and should remain a crowned republic
. He predicted in his 2009 book Battlelines that Australia would still be a Crowned Republic in 2020.
's ETS as he did not think it would be "a good look for the Opposition to be browner than Howard going into the next election".
At an October 2009 meeting in the Victorian town of Beaufort
, Abbott was reported to have said: "The argument is absolute crap... However, the politics of this are tough for us. 80% of people believe climate change is a real and present danger". On 1 December 2009, when questioned about that statement, he said he had used "a bit of hyperbole" at that meeting rather than it being his "considered position".
Speaking in November 2009, prior to being elected Leader of the Opposition, Abbott told the ABC's Lateline program that in relation to Climate Change
Policy:
Outgoing Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull
wrote that Abbott had described himself as a 'weathervane' in relation to climate change policy in the months prior to his becoming leader of the Liberal Party.
Upon becoming Leader of the Opposition, Abbott put the question of support for the Government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
(CPRS), to a secret ballot and the Liberal Party voted to reject support for the policy - overturning on an undertaking by Abbott's predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull
, to support an amended version of the government's scheme. Under Abbott, the Coalition voted against the CPRS in the Senate, and the bill was defeated twice, providing a double dissolution trigger.
Abbott proposed an alternative 'direct-action' climate policy involving a 5% reduction in emissions by means of creating a $2.5bn fund to provide incentives for industry and farmers to reduce emissions and through measures like storing carbon in soil; planting 20 million trees over the next decade; and providing $1000 rebates to homes for installation of solar cells. However estimates by Federal Treasury put the likely cost of such a scheme at A$10 billion a year or more.
The Rudd government eventually deferred its CPRS legislation until 2013.
The Liberal party's environmental philosophies have changed under different party leaders. Under Tony Abbott, the Liberal party has actively opposed the idea of a large carbon tax. Although opposing the Labor party's environmental policies, claiming that Labor would increase electricity prices, the Liberal party is in bipartisan support for the Mandatory Renewable Energy Targets, which would see an increase to electricity prices.
, an opponent of embryonic stem cell research and euthanasia
. He supports legal abortion but with restrictions; he has said that abortion should be "safe, legal and rare". He also tried, but failed, to block the introduction of the abortion pill RU-486, but promised not to change abortion law if elected.
As Health Minister, Abbott said that he saw reducing the number of abortions performed each year
as a national priority. In March 2004, he asked, "Why isn't the fact that 100,000 women choose to end their pregnancies regarded as a national tragedy approaching the scale, say, of Aboriginal
life expectancy
being 20 years less than that of the general community?" In February 2006, he said, "We have a bizarre double standard, a bizarre double standard in this country where someone who kills a pregnant woman's baby is guilty of murder but a woman who aborts an unborn baby is simply exercising choice."
Abbott promised to launch an investigation into a product called Pink or Blue, produced by the American firm Consumer Genetics. This test is one of several pre-natal blood tests designed to detect the sex of a fetus as early as six weeks into pregnancy. Some ethicists and anti-abortionists have raised concerns that it would be used for sex-selective abortion
.
Abbott opposed allowing the introduction of embryonic stem cell research or therapeutic cloning in another conscience vote
. He argued, "There are very important ethical questions here and even the very best end does not justify every possible means."
In his 2009 book Battlelines, Abbott proposed that consideration should be given to a return to an optional at-fault divorce agreement between couples who would like it, similar to the Matrimonial Causes Act, which would require spouses to prove offences like adultery, habitual drunkenness, cruelty, desertion, or a five-year separation before a divorce would be granted. Abbott said that this would be a way of "providing additional recognition to what might be thought of as traditional marriage".
Abbott opposes euthanasia. Addressing a 2009 Intelligence squared debate, he said, "Love, not death, is our obligation and our duty [to the sick]. I would be slow to judge anyone who helped the passage to death [who really needed it] … Let's not make bad laws on hard cases." In his argument, he feared that legalised euthanasia could result in doctors avoiding complex responses and that there was, in some cases, a danger of unscrupulous relatives who might abuse the practice in the interests of gaining an inheritance.
In 2010, when Abbott told the ABC
's Q&A program that an Abbott-led government would not amend Australian law to recognise gay marriage, he said, "I certainly want to see - just a general principle. I want to see stable, committed relationships, but I do think that a marriage, by definition, is between a man and a woman."
Catholic. As a former Catholic seminarian, Abbott's religiosity
has come to national attention and journalists have often sought his views on the role of religion in politics. Abbott says that a politician should not rely on religion to justify a political point of view:
Various of the political positions supported by Abbott have been criticised by church representatives, including aspects of Coalition industrial relations policy, asylum seeker and Aboriginal affairs policy. After criticisms of Liberal Party policy by clergy, Abbott has said: "The priesthood gives someone the power to consecrate bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ
. It doesn't give someone the power to convert poor logic into good logic."
According to John Warhurst from the Australian National University
, academics have at times placed an "exaggerated concentration on the religious affiliation and personal religious background of just one of [the Howard government's] senior ministers, Tony Abbott." Journalist Michelle Grattan
wrote in 2010 that while Abbott has always "worn his Catholicism on his sleeve", he is "clearly frustrated by the obsession with [it] and what might hang off that".
as a member of the Davidson
Rural Fire Brigade.
Abbott has participated in many events for charity including running in a 100 km charity ultramarathon
. In April 2007 he launched the tenth annual Pollie Pedal, a charitable event which aimed to raise money for breast cancer research. Federal Territories Minister Jim Lloyd
said that the event was Abbott's "brainchild
".
As Opposition spokesman on Indigenous Affairs, Abbott spent weeks teaching in a remote Aboriginal settlements in Cape York
in 2008 and 2009, organised through prominent indigenous leader Noel Pearson. He taught remedial reading to Aboriginal children; worked with an income management group, helping families manage their welfare payments; and visited children who had not been attending school—with a goal 'to familiarise himself with indigenous issues'.
and discussion of potential policy directions for the Liberal Party of Australia
. Previously he had published two books in defence of the existing constitutional monarchy
system, "The Minimal Monarchy" and "How to Win the Constitutional War".
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah
Division of Warringah
The Division of Warringah is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney, and covers most of the land between Middle Harbour and the Pacific Ocean. It extends from Port Jackson in the south to the suburb of Dee Why in the...
since the 1994 by-election
Warringah by-election, 1994
The 1994 Warringah by-election was held in the Australian electorate of Warringah in New South Wales on 26 March 1994. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of the sitting member, the Liberal Party of Australia's Michael Mackellar on 18 February 1994...
. He was Minister for Employment Services
Minister for Employment Participation (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Employment Participation and Childcare is Kate Ellis, appointed on 14 September 2010. The position is within the portfolio of the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations, Chris Evans and is administered through the Department of Education,...
, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations is currently the Hon Senator Chris Evans.The Minister administers this portfolio, through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations....
, and Minister for Health and Ageing
Minister for Health and Ageing (Australia)
The Minister for Health and Ageing is a portfolio in the Government of Australia with the responsibility for national health policy. The current Minister for Health and Ageing is Nicola Roxon...
in the Howard government
Howard Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
at various times from 1998 to 2007 and Leader of the House
Leader of the House (Australia)
The office of Leader of the House in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Australia exists in order for the management of government business, involving such matters as the following:* the order in which Government issues are to be dealt with...
from 2001 to 2007.
After the defeat of the Howard government at the 2007 federal election, he was Shadow Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs until he resigned from Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
's shadow cabinet
Shadow Cabinet (Australia) September 2008 to November 2009
The Shadow Cabinet of Australia, also known as the Opposition Front Bench is a group of senior Opposition spokespeople who form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government. Malcolm Turnbull defeated Brendan Nelson in the...
on 26 November 2009 in protest against Liberal Party support for an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Following a spill motion, Abbott defeated Turnbull 42 votes to 41 in a party leadership election
Liberal Party of Australia leadership election, 2009
An election for the federal parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party of Australia was held on 1 December 2009. The incumbent, Malcolm Turnbull, was defeated by Tony Abbott in a three-way vote of Liberal Party Members of Parliament . Joe Hockey also stood as a candidate...
.
The 2010 federal election resulted in a hung parliament with the incumbent Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
government led by Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
, forming a minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
after gaining support of an Australian Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
MP and three independent MPs. Abbott was re-elected unopposed to the party leadership following the election.
Early life and family
Abbott was born in London, England to an English father and an Australian mother. On 7 September 1960, his family returned to Australia on the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme ship OronsaySS Oronsay (1951)
For other ships of the same name, see Oronsay.SS Oronsay was the second Orient Line ship built after World War II. A sister ship to SS Orcades, she was named after one of many islands called Oronsay on the west coast of Scotland....
, living first in the Sydney suburbs of Bronte
Bronte, New South Wales
Bronte is a beachside suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bronte is located 8 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Waverley Council local government area of the Eastern Suburbs....
then moving to Chatswood
Chatswood, New South Wales
Chatswood is a suburb on the North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Chatswood is located 10 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Willoughby. Chatswood West is a separate suburb...
. Abbott was schooled at St Aloysius' College before completing his secondary school education at St Ignatius' College, Riverview in Sydney (both are Jesuit schools). He graduated with a Bachelor of Economics (BEc) and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
where he resided at St John's College
St John's College, University of Sydney
]St John's College, or the College of St John the Evangelist, is a residential College within the University of Sydney.Established in 1857, the College of St John the Evangelist is the oldest Roman Catholic university college and second-oldest university college in Australia, and is one of the...
, and was president of the Student Representative Council. He gained media attention for his political stance opposing the then dominant left-wing student leadership. He was also a prominent student boxer. He then went on to attend the Queen's College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and graduated with a Master of Arts (MA) in Politics and Philosophy.
When Abbott was 19, his girlfriend became pregnant and believed Abbott to be the biological father. She was keen to get married but when Abbott refused she left him seven months into her pregnancy. She later gave birth to a son and had him adopted. For 27 years, Abbott believed that he fathered this child. In 2004, the boy sought out his biological mother and it was publicly revealed that the child had become an ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
sound recordist who worked in Parliament House
Parliament House, Canberra
Parliament House is the meeting facility of the Parliament of Australia located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. The building was designed by Mitchell/Giurgola Architects and opened on 1988 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia...
, Canberra, and was involved in making television programs in which Abbott appeared. DNA testing later revealed that Abbott was not the man's father.
In 1983, he began studying for the Catholic
Roman Catholic Church in Australia
The Catholic Church in Australia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual and administrative leadership of the Pope.Australia is a majority Christian but pluralistic society with no established religion. There are approximately 5.1 million Australian Catholics . Catholicism...
priesthood, and entered St Patrick's Seminary, Manly
St Patrick's Seminary, Manly
St Patrick's Seminary, Manly was the leading seminary of the Australian Catholic Church from its foundation in 1889 to its closure in 1995.Conceived by Archbishop Vaughan, it was built from 1885 in Perpendicular Gothic style by Sheerin and Hennessy on a spectacular site overlooking the Pacific...
. He subsequently decided to leave the seminary and choose another career path. Due to this time in the seminary, his strong Catholic faith, and his surname, Abbott was given the nickname "The Mad Monk" by his critics.
Throughout his time as a student and seminarian, Abbott was writing articles for newspapers and magazines—first for the Sydney University Newspaper, and later The Catholic Weekly and national publications like The Bulletin
The Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
. He eventually became a journalist and wrote for The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
.
In 1987, Abbott met his wife Margaret, with whom he has three daughters (Louise, Bridget and Frances).
Entry
Abbott began public life as a journalist for The BulletinThe Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
, an influential news magazine, and The Australian Newspaper. He became well-known for his strongly worded criticism of trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s and left-wing politics. For a time he was a plant manager for Pioneer Concrete before becoming press secretary to the Leader of the Opposition, Dr John Hewson
John Hewson
John Robert Hewson AM is an Australian economist, company director and a former politician. He was federal leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 1990 to 1994 and led the party to defeat at the 1993 federal election.-Early life:...
from 1990 to 1993 and worked on the Fightback!
Fightback!
Fightback! was a radical economic policy package, 650 pages long, proposed by then Liberal Party leader John Hewson.-Key elements:The key elements of Fightback! were:...
policy. Between 1993 and 1994 he was the Executive Director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy
Australians for Constitutional Monarchy
Australians for Constitutional Monarchy is a group that aims to preserve Australia's current constitutional monarchy, with Elizabeth II as Queen of Australia...
.
Despite his right-wing leanings, Abbott has acknowledged he voted for Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
in the 1988 NSW state election
New South Wales state election, 1988
Elections to the 49th Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday 19 March 1988. All seats in the Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the Legislative Council were up for election...
as he thought "Barrie Unsworth
Barrie Unsworth
Barrie John Unsworth was an Australian politician, representing the Australian Labor Party in the Parliament of New South Wales from 1978 to 1991. He served as the 36th Premier from July 1986 to March 1988.-Early years:...
was the best deal Premier that New South Wales had ever had." Nevertheless, Abbott then clarified that he has never voted for Labor in a federal election.
Member of Parliament and Minister in Howard Government
Abbott was elected to the Australian House of RepresentativesAustralian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
for the Division of Warringah
Division of Warringah
The Division of Warringah is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney, and covers most of the land between Middle Harbour and the Pacific Ocean. It extends from Port Jackson in the south to the suburb of Dee Why in the...
at a by-election in March 1994
Warringah by-election, 1994
The 1994 Warringah by-election was held in the Australian electorate of Warringah in New South Wales on 26 March 1994. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of the sitting member, the Liberal Party of Australia's Michael Mackellar on 18 February 1994...
following the resignation of Michael MacKellar
Michael MacKellar
Michael John Randal MacKellar, AM is an Australian politician and was the Liberal Member for Warringah from 1969 until 1994. He is the current president of the National Ageing Research Institute , Melbourne, Australia....
. He served as the parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (1996–98), Minister for Employment Services (1998–2001), Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Small Business
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations is currently the Hon Senator Chris Evans.The Minister administers this portfolio, through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations....
(2001), Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations (2001–03) and Minister for Health and Ageing from 2003 to November 2007. From late 2001 to November 2007, he was also Manager of Government Business in the House of Representatives.
As a Parliamentary Secretary, Abbott oversaw the establishment of the Green Corps program which involved young people in environmental restoration work. As Minister for Employment Services, he oversaw the implementation of the Job Network and was responsible for the government's Work for the Dole
Work for the dole
Work for the Dole is an Australian federal government program that is a form of workfare, work-based welfare. It was first permanently enacted in 1998, having been trialed in 1997....
scheme. He also commissioned the Cole Royal Commission into "thuggery and rorts" in the construction industry and created the Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner in response and to lift productivity.
The Liberal Party allowed members a free choice in the 1999 republic referendum
Australian republic referendum, 1999
The Australian republic referendum held on 6 November 1999 was a two-question referendum to amend the Constitution of Australia. The first question asked whether Australia should become a republic with a President appointed by Parliament following a bi-partisan appointment model which had...
. Abbott was one of the leading voices within the Party campaigning for the successful "No" vote, pitting him against future Parliamentary colleague and leading Republican Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
When Abbott was promoted to Cabinet in 2000, Prime Minister Howard described him as an effective performer with an endearing style, whereas the Opposition described him as a "bomb thrower." Howard appointed Abbott to the key Health Portfolio in 2003, during a period of contentious Medicare
Medicare (Australia)
Medicare is Australia's publicly funded universal health care system, operated by the government authority Medicare Australia. Medicare is intended to provide affordable treatment by doctors and in public hospitals for all resident citizens and permanent residents except for those on Norfolk Island...
reform and a crisis in Medical Indemnity Insurance, which was forcing doctors out of practice. Abbott worked with the states to address the crisis and keep the system running.
Abbott was involved in controversy in 2006 for opposing access to the abortion drug RU486, and the Parliament voted to strip Health Ministers of the power to regulate this area of policy. He introduced the Medicare Safety Net to cap the annual out-of-pocket costs
Out-of-pocket expenses
Out-of-pocket expenses are direct outlays of cash which may or may not be later reimbursed.In operating a vehicle, gasoline, parking fees and tolls are considered out-of-pocket expenses for the trip...
of Medicare cardholders to a maximum amount. In 2007 he attracted criticism over long delays in funding for cancer diagnostic equipment (PET
Positron emission tomography
Positron emission tomography is nuclear medicine imaging technique that produces a three-dimensional image or picture of functional processes in the body. The system detects pairs of gamma rays emitted indirectly by a positron-emitting radionuclide , which is introduced into the body on a...
scanners).
According to Sydney Morning Herald Political Editor Peter Hartcher
Peter Hartcher
Peter Hartcher is an Australian journalist and the Political and International Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald. He is also a visiting fellow at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based foreign policy think tank.-Career:...
, prior to the defeat of the Howard Government
Howard Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
at the Australian Federal Election, 2007, Abbott had opposed the Government's centrepiece Workchoices
WorkChoices
The Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices, was a Legislative Act of the Australian Parliament that came into effect in March 2006 which involved many controversial amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the...
industrial relations deregulation reform in Cabinet, on the basis that the legislation exceeded the government's mandate; was harsh on workers; and was politically dangerous to the government.
Abbott campaigned as Minister for Health at the 2007 Election. On 31 October, he apologised for saying 'just because a person is sick doesn't mean that he is necessarily pure of heart in all things', after Bernie Banton
Bernie Banton
Bernard Douglas Banton AM was an Australian social justice campaigner. He was the widely-recognised face of the legal and political campaign to achieve compensation for the many sufferers of asbestos-related conditions, which they contracted after working for the company James Hardie.Banton...
, (an asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
campaigner and terminal mesothelioma
Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma, more precisely malignant mesothelioma, is a rare form of cancer that develops from the protective lining that covers many of the body's internal organs, the mesothelium...
sufferer) called him 'gutless' for not being present to collect a petition.
During his career as a Minister, Abbott acquired a reputation as a robust parliamentary debater and political tactician.
Action against the One Nation party
In 1998, Abbott established a trust fund called "Australians for Honest Politics Trust" to help bankroll civil court cases against the One Nation party and its founders, Pauline HansonPauline Hanson
Pauline Lee Hanson is an Australian politician and former leader of Pauline Hanson's One Nation, a political party with a populist and anti-multiculturalism platform...
and David Ettridge
David Ettridge
David William Ettridge in Adelaide, Australia, is an Australian businessman who co-founded Pauline Hanson's One Nation in 1997 with Pauline Hanson and David Oldfield....
. Prosecution ultimately resulted in Hanson & Ettridge being imprisoned. The conviction against Hanson was ultimately overturned, leading to criticism of a range of politicians for political interference by the adjudicating justice.
Post Howard Government: shadow minister
After the Coalition lost government in 2007 and he lost his health portfolio, in opposition Abbott was re-elected to the seat of Warringah with a 1.79% swing toward the Labor Party. Following Peter CostelloPeter Costello
Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...
's rejection of the leadership of the Parliamentary Liberal Party, Abbott nominated for the position of party leader
Liberal Party of Australia leadership election, 2007
An election for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia was held on 29 November 2007. At the same time an election for the deputy leadership of the party was held, as under Liberal Party rules, all leadership positions are declared vacant after a general election, no matter what the...
, along with Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
and Brendan Nelson
Brendan Nelson
Dr Brendan John Nelson is a former Australian politician and former federal Opposition leader. He served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from the 1996 federal election until 19 October 2009 as the Liberal member for Bradfield, a northern Sydney seat...
. After canvassing the support of his colleagues, Abbott decided to withdraw his nomination. He seemingly did not have the numbers, noting that he was "obviously very closely identified with the outgoing prime minister." He also said he would not rule out contesting the leadership at some time in the future.
In December 2007, Abbott was assigned the Shadow Portfolio of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. As indigenous affairs spokesman, Abbott said that it had been a mistake for the Howard Government
Howard Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
not to offer a National Apology to the Stolen Generations.; spent time teaching at remote Aboriginal communities; and argued for the Rudd Government
Rudd Government
The Rudd Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia of the Australian Labor Party from 2007 to 2010, led by Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister. The Rudd Government commenced on 3 December 2007, when Rudd was sworn in along with his ministry...
to continue the Northern Territory National Emergency Response
Northern Territory National Emergency Response
The Northern Territory National Emergency Response was a package of changes to welfare provision, law enforcement, land tenure and other measures, introduced by the Australian federal government under John Howard in 2007 to address claims of rampant child sexual abuse and neglect in Northern...
which restricted alcohol and introduced conditional welfare in certain Aboriginal communities.
During this period in Opposition, Abbott wrote Battlelines - a biography and reflection on his thoughts on the Howard Government
Howard Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
, and a discussion of potential future policy directions for the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
. In the book, Abbott said that in certain aspects the Australian Federation was 'dysfunctional' and in need of repair. He recommended the establishment of local hospital and School boards to manage health and education; and discussed family law reform; multiculuralism, climate change; and international relations. The book received a favourable review from former Labor Party speech writer Bob Ellis
Bob Ellis
Bob Ellis is an Australian writer, journalist, film-maker and political commentator. He was a student at the University of Sydney at the same time as other notable Australians including Clive James, Germaine Greer, Les Murray, John Bell, Ken Horler, and Mungo McCallum...
, and The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
described it as 'read almost universally as Abbott's intellectual application for the party's leadership after the Turnbull experiment'.
The number of unauthorised boat arrivals to Australia increased in Australia during 2008. Abbott claimed that this was an effect of the Rudd Government's easing of border protection laws and accused Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
of ineptitude and hypocrisy on the issue of boat arrivals, particularly during the Oceanic Viking affair of October 2009
MV Oceanic Viking
The MV Oceanic Viking is an armed patrol vessel of the Australian Customs Service. Originally built in 1996 as the offshore supply vessel Viking Lady for Norwegian shipping company Eidesvik Shipping AS, the ship was converted into a cable layer in 2000 and renamed Oceanic Viking...
, and said "John Howard found a problem and created a solution. Kevin Rudd found a solution and has now created a problem".
In November 2009, Abbott resigned from shadow ministerial responsibilities due to the Liberal Party's position on the government's Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), leading to the resignation of other shadow ministers.
Leader of the Opposition
On 1 December 2009, Abbott was elected to the position of Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia over Malcolm Turnbull and Shadow Treasurer Joe HockeyJoe Hockey
Joseph Benedict "Joe" Hockey , is an Australian politician and member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of North Sydney for the Liberal Party of Australia since 1996....
(See 2009 Liberal Leadership ballot
Liberal Party of Australia leadership election, 2009
An election for the federal parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party of Australia was held on 1 December 2009. The incumbent, Malcolm Turnbull, was defeated by Tony Abbott in a three-way vote of Liberal Party Members of Parliament . Joe Hockey also stood as a candidate...
). Abbott proposed blocking the Rudd Government
Rudd Government
The Rudd Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia of the Australian Labor Party from 2007 to 2010, led by Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister. The Rudd Government commenced on 3 December 2007, when Rudd was sworn in along with his ministry...
's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)
Emissions trading
Emissions trading is a market-based approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants....
in the Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
whereas Turnbull sought to amend then pass the bill which the majority of the Liberal Party did not support. Abbott named his Shadow Cabinet on 8 December 2009.
Abbott described Prime Minister Rudd's Emission Trading plan as a 'Great big tax on everything' and opposed it. The Coalition and minor parties voted against the Government's ETS legislation in the Senate and the legislation was rejected. Abbott announced a new Coaltion policy on carbon emission reduction in February, which committed the Coalition to a 5 per cent reduction in emissions by 2020. Abbott proposed the creation of an 'emissions reduction fund' to provide 'direct' incentives to industry and farmers to reduce carbon emissions. In April, Rudd announced that plans for the introduction his ETS would be delayed until 2013.
When appointed to the Liberal leadership, the subject of Abbott's Catholicism and moral beliefs became a subject of repeated media questioning. Various commentators suggested that his traditionalist views would polarise female voters. Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
accused Abbott of 'lecturing' women when he responded to a question from a women's magazine by saying that he would tell his own daughters that virginity was 'a gift' not to be given away 'lightly'. He told press gallery journalist Laurie Oakes
Laurie Oakes
Laurie Oakes is an Australian political journalist, commentator, and media personality. Since 1966, he has worked in the Canberra Press Gallery, covering the Parliament of Australia and federal elections....
that he does not do doorstop interviews in front of church but regularly faces pointed questions about his faith which are not put to the prime minister, who attends Anglican services every week.
In a 60 Minutes interview aired on 7 March 2010, Abbott was asked: "Homosexuality? How do you feel about that?". He replied: "I'd probably feel a bit threatened ... as most people do." In a later interview Abbott said that the answer he gave had been a "spontaneous answer", and on the ABC's Q&A program he apologised and said that he had used a "very poor choice of words".
In March 2010, Abbott, announced a new policy initiative to provide for 6 months paid parental leave
Parental leave
Parental leave is an employee benefit that provides paid or unpaid time off work to care for a child or make arrangements for the child's welfare. Often, the term parental leave includes maternity, paternity, and adoption leave...
, funded by an increase in corporate tax by 1.7 per cent on all taxable company income of more than $5 million. Business groups and the government opposed the plan, however it won support from the Australian Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
.
During his time as Opposition Spokesman for Indigenous Affairs, Abbott spent time in remote Cape York
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
Aboriginal communities as a teacher, organised through prominent indigenous activist Noel Pearson. Abbott has repeatedly spoke of his admiration for Pearson, and in March 2010, introduced the Wild Rivers (Environmental Management) Bill to Parliament in support of Pearson's campaign to overturn the Queensland government's Wild Rivers legislation. Abbott and Pearson believe that the QLD law will 'block the economic development' of indigenous land, and interfere with Aboriginal land rights.
Abbott completed an Ironman Triathlon
Ironman Triathlon
An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation consisting of a swim, a bike and a marathon run, raced in that order and without a break...
event in March 2010 at Port Macquarie, New South Wales
Port Macquarie, New South Wales
Port Macquarie is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, located about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The city is located on the coast, at the mouth of the Hastings River, and has an estimated population of 44,313....
and in April set out on a 9 day charity bike ride between Melbourne and Sydney, the annual Pollie Pedal, generating political debate about whether Abbott should have committed so much time to physical fitness. Abbot described the events as an opportunity to "stop at lots of little towns along the way where people probably never see or don't very often see a federal member of Parliament."
In his first Budget reply speech as Opposition Leader, Abbott sought to portray the Rudd Government
Rudd Government
The Rudd Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia of the Australian Labor Party from 2007 to 2010, led by Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister. The Rudd Government commenced on 3 December 2007, when Rudd was sworn in along with his ministry...
's third budget as a "tax and spend" budget and promised to fight the election on the new mining "super-profits" tax proposed by Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
.
Election 2010
Shortly before the 2010 federal election, Julia GillardJulia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
replaced Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
as Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
leader and Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
after it emerged that Rudd no longer held majority support within party caucus.
On 17 July, after receiving the agreement of the Governor-General, Prime Minister Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
announced the next federal election would be held on 21 August 2010. Polls in the first week gave a view that Labor would be re-elected with an increased majority, with Newspoll
Newspoll
Newspoll Market Research is an Australian company providing opinion polling and other market research services. Its chief executive is Martin O'Shannessy.Newspoll's surveys of voter opinion are published in The Australian....
showing a lead of 10 points (55–45) two party preferred and the Essential poll similarly reflecting Newspoll.
The two leaders met for one official debate during the campaign. Studio audience surveys by the Channel 9
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
and Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
suggested a win to Gillard. Unable to agree on further debates, the leaders went on to appear separately on stage for questioning at community fora in Sydney and Brisbane. In Sydney on 11 August, Abbott's opening statement focused on his main election messages of government debt, taxation and asylum seekers. An audience exit poll of the Rooty Hill RSL audience accorded Abbott victory. Gillard won the audience poll at Broncos Leagues Club meeting in Brisbane on 18 August. Abbott also appeared for public questioning on the ABC's Q&A program on 16 August.
Labor and the Coalition each won 72 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
, four short of the requirement for majority government
Majority government
A majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...
, resulting in the first hung parliament
Hung parliament
In a two-party parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament occurs when neither major political party has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament . It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a legislature under no overall control...
since the 1940 election
Australian federal election, 1940
Federal elections were held in Australia on 21 September 1940. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...
.
Abbott and Gillard commenced a 17 day period of negotiation with the crossbenchers over who would form government. On the crossbench, four independent members, one member of the National Party of Western Australia
National Party of Western Australia
The National Party of Western Australia is a political party in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia but maintains a separate structure and identity....
and one member of the Australian Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
held the balance of power
Balance of power (parliament)
In parliamentary politics, the term balance of power sometimes describes the pragmatic mechanism exercised by a minor political party or other grouping whose guaranteed support may enable an otherwise minority government to obtain and hold office...
. Following the negotiations, the incumbent Gillard Labor government formed a minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
with the support of an Australian Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
MP and three independent MPs on the basis of confidence and supply
Confidence and supply
In a parliamentary democracy confidence and supply are required for a government to hold power. A confidence and supply agreement is an agreement that a minor party or independent member of parliament will support the government in motions of confidence and appropriation votes by voting in favour...
, while another independent and the WA National gave their confidence and supply support to the Coalition, resulting in Labor holding a 76-74 tally of votes on the floor of the Parliament. The Coalition finished with 49.88 percent of the two party preferred vote. obtaining a national swing of around 2.58%.
During negotiations, the Independents requested that both major parties' policies be costed by the apolitical Australian Treasury. The Coalition initially resisted the idea, citing concerns over Treasury leaks, however the Coalition eventually allowed the analysis. Treasury endorsed Labor's budget costings but projected that Coalition policies would only add between $860 million and $4.5 billion to the bottom line (the Coalition had projected that its promises would add about $11.5 billion to the budget bottom line over the next four years).
Post 2010 Election
Following the 2010 Election, Abbott and his deputy, Julie BishopJulie Bishop
Julie Isabel Bishop is an Australian politician and the current Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Australia. She holds this title as the deputy leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. She is the party's first female Deputy Leader and the third woman in Australian history to...
were re-elected unopposed as leaders of the Liberal Party. Abbott announced his shadow ministry on 14 September, with few changes to senior positions, but with the return of former leadership rival Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
, whom he selected as Communications spokesman. Abbott announced that he wanted Turnbull to prosecute the Opposition's case against the Gillard Government
Gillard Government
The Gillard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia, which is led by the Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard. Julia Gillard became Prime Minister on the 24th of June 2010 after challenging her predecessor, Kevin Rudd for the position of leader of the parliamentary...
's proposed expenditure on a National Broadband Network.
Following the 2010–2011 Queensland floods
2010–2011 Queensland floods
A series of floods hit Australia, beginning in December 2010, primarily in the state of Queensland including its capital city, Brisbane. The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities. At least seventy towns and over 200,000 people were affected. Damage initially was...
, Tony Abbott opposed plans by the Gillard government to impose a "flood levy" on taxpayers to fund reconstruction efforts. Abbott said that funding should be found within the existing budget. Abbott also announced a proposal for a taskforce to examine further construction of dams in Australia to deal with flood impact and food security.
In February 2011, Abbott criticised the Gillard government's handling of health reform and proposal for a 50-50 public hospitals funding arrangement with the states and territories, describing the revised Labor Party proposal as "the biggest surrender since Singapore". Abbott opposed Prime Minister Gillard's February 2010 announcement of a proposal for the introduction of a "carbon tax", and called on her to take the issue to an election. Abbott said that Gillard had lied to the electorate over the issue because Gillard and her Treasurer Wayne Swan
Wayne Swan
Wayne Maxwell Swan is the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1993 to 1996, and then re elected in 1998 till today , representing the Division of Lilley, QLD...
had repeatedly ruled out the introduction of a carbon tax in the lead up to the 2010 election.
In April 2011, Abbott proposed consultation with Indigenous people
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
over a bipartisan Federal Government intervention in Northern Territory towns like Alice Springs, Katherine and Tennant Creek which would cover such areas as police numbers and school attendance in an effort to address what he described as a "failed state" situation developing in areas of the Northern Territory. April also saw Abbott announce a $430 million policy plan to improve the employment prospects of people with serious mental health problems Australia.
Following the first Gillard Government
Gillard Government
The Gillard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia, which is led by the Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard. Julia Gillard became Prime Minister on the 24th of June 2010 after challenging her predecessor, Kevin Rudd for the position of leader of the parliamentary...
budget in May 2011, Abbott used his budget-reply speech to reiterate his recent critiques of government policy and call for an early election over the issue of a carbon tax. Rhetorically echoing Liberal party founder, Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
, Abbott addressed remarks to the "forgotten families".
In June 2011 Abbott for the first time lead Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
in the Newspoll
Newspoll
Newspoll Market Research is an Australian company providing opinion polling and other market research services. Its chief executive is Martin O'Shannessy.Newspoll's surveys of voter opinion are published in The Australian....
preferred Prime Minister.
In September 2011, Abbott announced a plan to develop an agricultural food bowl in the north of Australia
Northern Australia
The term northern Australia is generally known to include two State and Territories, being Queensland and the Northern Territory . The part of Western Australia north of latitude 26° south—a definition widely used in law and State government policy—is also usually included...
by developing dams for irrigation and hydroelectricity. Coalition task force leader Andrew Robb claimed that Australia currently produced enough food for 60 million people, but that the coalition plan could double this to 120 million people by 2040. The head of the Northern Australia Land and Water Taskforce expressed concerns with the economic and environmental viability of this plan as well as its effects on the Indigenous Australian communities in northern Australia.
Constitutional monarchist
Abbott is a supporter of the constitutional monarchy in Australia. Prior to entering Parliament, he was Executive Director of Australians for Constitutional MonarchyAustralians for Constitutional Monarchy
Australians for Constitutional Monarchy is a group that aims to preserve Australia's current constitutional monarchy, with Elizabeth II as Queen of Australia...
from 1993-94. Arguing against the case for a republican system of government in Australia in 1999, Abbott outlined his beliefs on conservatism and the monarchy:
Abbott supports the argument espoused by former Prime Minister John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
and Justice Michael Kirby that Australia is presently and should remain a crowned republic
Crowned republic
A crowned republic is a form of constitutional monarchy where the monarch's role is ceremonial and all the royal prerogatives are prescribed by custom and law in such a way that the monarch has little or no discretion over governmental and constitutional issues.The term has been used to describe...
. He predicted in his 2009 book Battlelines that Australia would still be a Crowned Republic in 2020.
Climate change
Speaking in July 2009, Abbott told the ABC's 7:30 Report that though he thought the science of climate change was "highly contentious" and that he thought that the economics of an ETS was "a bit dodgy", he nevertheless thought that the Opposition should pass the Rudd GovernmentRudd Government
The Rudd Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia of the Australian Labor Party from 2007 to 2010, led by Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister. The Rudd Government commenced on 3 December 2007, when Rudd was sworn in along with his ministry...
's ETS as he did not think it would be "a good look for the Opposition to be browner than Howard going into the next election".
At an October 2009 meeting in the Victorian town of Beaufort
Beaufort, Victoria
Beaufort is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Western Highway midway between Ararat and Ballarat, in the Pyrenees Shire local government area. It is 387 metres above sea level. At the 2001 census, Beaufort had a population of 987...
, Abbott was reported to have said: "The argument is absolute crap... However, the politics of this are tough for us. 80% of people believe climate change is a real and present danger". On 1 December 2009, when questioned about that statement, he said he had used "a bit of hyperbole" at that meeting rather than it being his "considered position".
Speaking in November 2009, prior to being elected Leader of the Opposition, Abbott told the ABC's Lateline program that in relation to Climate Change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
Policy:
Outgoing Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
wrote that Abbott had described himself as a 'weathervane' in relation to climate change policy in the months prior to his becoming leader of the Liberal Party.
Upon becoming Leader of the Opposition, Abbott put the question of support for the Government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme was a proposed cap-and-trade system of emissions trading for anthropogenic greenhouse gases, due to be introduced in Australia in 2010 by the Rudd government, as part of its climate change policy. It marked a major change in the energy policy of Australia...
(CPRS), to a secret ballot and the Liberal Party voted to reject support for the policy - overturning on an undertaking by Abbott's predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
, to support an amended version of the government's scheme. Under Abbott, the Coalition voted against the CPRS in the Senate, and the bill was defeated twice, providing a double dissolution trigger.
Abbott proposed an alternative 'direct-action' climate policy involving a 5% reduction in emissions by means of creating a $2.5bn fund to provide incentives for industry and farmers to reduce emissions and through measures like storing carbon in soil; planting 20 million trees over the next decade; and providing $1000 rebates to homes for installation of solar cells. However estimates by Federal Treasury put the likely cost of such a scheme at A$10 billion a year or more.
The Rudd government eventually deferred its CPRS legislation until 2013.
The Liberal party's environmental philosophies have changed under different party leaders. Under Tony Abbott, the Liberal party has actively opposed the idea of a large carbon tax. Although opposing the Labor party's environmental policies, claiming that Labor would increase electricity prices, the Liberal party is in bipartisan support for the Mandatory Renewable Energy Targets, which would see an increase to electricity prices.
Bioethics and family policy
Abbott is pro-lifePro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
, an opponent of embryonic stem cell research and euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
. He supports legal abortion but with restrictions; he has said that abortion should be "safe, legal and rare". He also tried, but failed, to block the introduction of the abortion pill RU-486, but promised not to change abortion law if elected.
As Health Minister, Abbott said that he saw reducing the number of abortions performed each year
Abortion in Australia
Abortion in Australia is a subject of state law rather than national law. The grounds on which abortion is permitted in Australia vary from state to state. In every state, abortion is legal to protect the life and health of the woman, though each state has a different definition.There is no law...
as a national priority. In March 2004, he asked, "Why isn't the fact that 100,000 women choose to end their pregnancies regarded as a national tragedy approaching the scale, say, of Aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
life expectancy
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...
being 20 years less than that of the general community?" In February 2006, he said, "We have a bizarre double standard, a bizarre double standard in this country where someone who kills a pregnant woman's baby is guilty of murder but a woman who aborts an unborn baby is simply exercising choice."
Abbott promised to launch an investigation into a product called Pink or Blue, produced by the American firm Consumer Genetics. This test is one of several pre-natal blood tests designed to detect the sex of a fetus as early as six weeks into pregnancy. Some ethicists and anti-abortionists have raised concerns that it would be used for sex-selective abortion
Sex-selective abortion
Sex-selective abortion is the practice of terminating a pregnancy based upon the predicted sex of the baby. The selective abortion of female fetuses is most common in areas where cultural norms value male children over female children, especially in parts of People's Republic of China, India,...
.
Abbott opposed allowing the introduction of embryonic stem cell research or therapeutic cloning in another conscience vote
Conscience vote
A conscience vote or free vote is a type of vote in a legislative body where legislators are allowed to vote according to their own personal conscience rather than according to an official line set down by their political party....
. He argued, "There are very important ethical questions here and even the very best end does not justify every possible means."
In his 2009 book Battlelines, Abbott proposed that consideration should be given to a return to an optional at-fault divorce agreement between couples who would like it, similar to the Matrimonial Causes Act, which would require spouses to prove offences like adultery, habitual drunkenness, cruelty, desertion, or a five-year separation before a divorce would be granted. Abbott said that this would be a way of "providing additional recognition to what might be thought of as traditional marriage".
Abbott opposes euthanasia. Addressing a 2009 Intelligence squared debate, he said, "Love, not death, is our obligation and our duty [to the sick]. I would be slow to judge anyone who helped the passage to death [who really needed it] … Let's not make bad laws on hard cases." In his argument, he feared that legalised euthanasia could result in doctors avoiding complex responses and that there was, in some cases, a danger of unscrupulous relatives who might abuse the practice in the interests of gaining an inheritance.
In 2010, when Abbott told the ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
's Q&A program that an Abbott-led government would not amend Australian law to recognise gay marriage, he said, "I certainly want to see - just a general principle. I want to see stable, committed relationships, but I do think that a marriage, by definition, is between a man and a woman."
Religion
Abbott is a socially conservativeSocial conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
Catholic. As a former Catholic seminarian, Abbott's religiosity
Religiosity
Religiosity, in its broadest sense, is a comprehensive sociological term used to refer to the numerous aspects of religious activity, dedication, and belief . Another term that would work equally well, though is less often used, is religiousness...
has come to national attention and journalists have often sought his views on the role of religion in politics. Abbott says that a politician should not rely on religion to justify a political point of view:
Various of the political positions supported by Abbott have been criticised by church representatives, including aspects of Coalition industrial relations policy, asylum seeker and Aboriginal affairs policy. After criticisms of Liberal Party policy by clergy, Abbott has said: "The priesthood gives someone the power to consecrate bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ
Transubstantiation
In Roman Catholic theology, transubstantiation means the change, in the Eucharist, of the substance of wheat bread and grape wine into the substance of the Body and Blood, respectively, of Jesus, while all that is accessible to the senses remains as before.The Eastern Orthodox...
. It doesn't give someone the power to convert poor logic into good logic."
According to John Warhurst from the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
, academics have at times placed an "exaggerated concentration on the religious affiliation and personal religious background of just one of [the Howard government's] senior ministers, Tony Abbott." Journalist Michelle Grattan
Michelle Grattan
Michelle Grattan AO , Australian journalist, was the first woman to become editor of an Australian metropolitan daily newspaper. Specialising in political journalism, Grattan has written and edited for many significant Australian newspapers....
wrote in 2010 that while Abbott has always "worn his Catholicism on his sleeve", he is "clearly frustrated by the obsession with [it] and what might hang off that".
Community service
Abbott is a volunteer member of the NSW Rural Fire ServiceNew South Wales Rural Fire Service
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and statutory body of the NSW Government. The NSW RFS is responsible for the general administration of rural fire management affairs including administration of the Rural Fire Fighting Fund, co-ordination with local...
as a member of the Davidson
Davidson, New South Wales
Davidson is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Davidson is located 20 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Warringah Council...
Rural Fire Brigade.
Abbott has participated in many events for charity including running in a 100 km charity ultramarathon
Ultramarathon
An ultramarathon is any sporting event involving running longer than the traditional marathon length of .There are two types of ultramarathon events: those that cover a specified distance, and events that take place during specified time...
. In April 2007 he launched the tenth annual Pollie Pedal, a charitable event which aimed to raise money for breast cancer research. Federal Territories Minister Jim Lloyd
Jim Lloyd
James Eric Lloyd JP , Australian politician, was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian House of Representatives from the March 1996 election until the November 2007 election, representing the Division of Robertson in New South Wales.Born in Sydney, New South Wales, Lloyd was...
said that the event was Abbott's "brainchild
Idea
In the most narrow sense, an idea is just whatever is before the mind when one thinks. Very often, ideas are construed as representational images; i.e. images of some object. In other contexts, ideas are taken to be concepts, although abstract concepts do not necessarily appear as images...
".
As Opposition spokesman on Indigenous Affairs, Abbott spent weeks teaching in a remote Aboriginal settlements in Cape York
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
in 2008 and 2009, organised through prominent indigenous leader Noel Pearson. He taught remedial reading to Aboriginal children; worked with an income management group, helping families manage their welfare payments; and visited children who had not been attending school—with a goal 'to familiarise himself with indigenous issues'.
Books by Abbott
Abbott has published three books. In 2009 he launched "Battlelines"; a personal biography, reflections on the Howard GovernmentHoward Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
and discussion of potential policy directions for the Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
. Previously he had published two books in defence of the existing constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
system, "The Minimal Monarchy" and "How to Win the Constitutional War".
See also
- Next Australian federal electionNext Australian federal electionA federal election was held on Saturday, 21 August 2010 for members of the 43rd Parliament of Australia. The incumbent centre-left Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister Julia Gillard won a second term against the opposition centre-right Liberal/National Coalition led by Opposition Leader...
- Australian federal election, 2010
- Shadow Cabinet of Australia
External links
- Personal website
- First Speech by Tony Abbott to Parliament
- Parliamentary biography
- Video: Tony Abbott launches Battlelines book interview at ABC Radio National.
- The Political Philosophy of Tony Abbott article by Damien Freeman at Quadrant Magazine.
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-