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Wikipedia

Tony Abbott

January 01, 1970

For other people named Tony Abbott, see Tony Abbott (disambiguation).

Anthony John Abbott AC (/ˈæbət/;[3] born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.[4]

The Honourable
Tony Abbott
AC
Abbott in 2010
28th Prime Minister of Australia
In office
18 September 2013 – 15 September 2015
MonarchElizabeth II
Governors General
DeputyWarren Truss
Preceded byKevin Rudd
Succeeded byMalcolm Turnbull
Leader of the Opposition
In office
1 December 2009 – 18 September 2013
Prime MinisterKevin Rudd
Julia Gillard
DeputyJulie Bishop
Preceded byMalcolm Turnbull
Succeeded byChris Bowen
Leader of the Liberal Party
In office
1 December 2009 – 14 September 2015
DeputyJulie Bishop
Preceded byMalcolm Turnbull
Succeeded byMalcolm Turnbull
Leader of the House
In office
12 February 2002 – 3 December 2007
Prime MinisterJohn Howard
Preceded byPeter Reith
Succeeded byAnthony Albanese
Cabinet Positions
Minister for Health and Ageing
In office
7 October 2003 – 3 December 2007
Prime MinisterJohn Howard
DeputyChristopher Pyne
Preceded byKay Patterson
Succeeded byNicola Roxon
Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service
In office
26 November 2001 – 7 October 2003
Prime MinisterJohn Howard
Preceded byDavid Kemp
Succeeded byKevin Andrews
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
In office
30 January 2001 – 7 October 2003
Prime MinisterJohn Howard
DeputyMal Brough
Preceded byPeter Reith
Succeeded byKevin Andrews
Minister for Employment Services
In office
21 October 1998 – 30 January 2001
Prime MinisterJohn Howard
LeaderPeter Reith
Preceded byChris Ellison
Succeeded byMal Brough
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Warringah
In office
26 March 1994 – 18 May 2019
Preceded byMichael MacKellar
Succeeded byZali Steggall
Director of the Australians for Constitutional Monarchy Group
In office
4 June 1992 – 18 February 1994
Preceded byorganisation established
Succeeded byKerry Jones
Personal details
Born
Anthony John Abbott

(1957-11-04) 4 November 1957 (age 66)
Lambeth, London, England
CitizenshipAustralian
British (1957–1993)
Political partyLiberal
Other political
affiliations		Democratic Labor (1979)
Spouse
​
(m. 1988)​
Children3[1][2]
EducationSt Aloysius' College
Saint Ignatius' College
Alma mater
Profession
  • Journalist
  • businessman
  • politician
Signature
Websitewww.tonyabbott.com.au
Tony Abbott's voice
Abbott speaking about Australia's relationship with Latin America
29 May 2014

Abbott was born in London, England, to an Australian mother and a British father, and moved to Sydney at the age of two. He studied economics and law at the University of Sydney, and then attended The Queen's College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar, studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics. After graduating from Oxford, Abbott briefly trained as a Roman Catholic seminarian, and later worked as a journalist, manager, and political adviser. In 1992, he was appointed director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy, a position he held until his election to parliament as a member of parliament (MP) for the division of Warringah at the 1994 Warringah by-election, before the election of the Howard government in 1996.

Following the 1998 election, Abbott was appointed Minister for Employment Services in the second Howard ministry. He was promoted to cabinet in 2001 as Minister for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business. In 2003, Abbott became Minister for Health and Ageing, retaining this position until the defeat of the Howard government at the 2007 election. Initially serving in the shadow cabinets of Brendan Nelson and then Malcolm Turnbull, Abbott resigned from the front bench in November 2009, in protest against Turnbull's support for the Rudd government's proposed Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).[5] Forcing a leadership ballot on the subject, Abbott narrowly defeated Turnbull to become the party's leader and leader of the opposition. Abbott led the Liberal-National Coalition to the 2010 federal election, which resulted in a hung parliament, and an eventual victory for the Australian Labor Party (ALP).[6] Abbott remained leader, and led the Coalition to a landslide victory at the 2013 election.

After assuming office, the Abbott government implemented Operation Sovereign Borders in an effort to halt illegal maritime arrivals.[7] It abolished several reforms enacted by the preceding government, including the Minerals Resource Rent Tax and Australia's carbon pricing scheme.[8][9] His government aimed to rein in a federal budget deficit that reached A$48.5 billion by June 2014,[10] and established the National Commission of Audit to advise on restoring the federal budget to surplus. Abbott instituted the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption; founded the Medical Research Future Fund; and produced white papers on developing Northern Australia and the Agricultural Competitiveness. In international affairs, Abbott concluded free trade agreements with China, Japan and South Korea. He challenged the Russian president Vladimir Putin over Russia's actions in Ukraine and over the shooting down of Malaysian Flight MH17 in Ukraine. He committed Australian forces to the battle against ISIS during the Syrian conflict, and agreed to resettle an additional 12,000 refugees from the region.[11] He launched the New Colombo Plan to encourage educational exchange with the Indo-Pacific region. Domestically, Abbott campaigned for recognition of Indigenous Australians in the Australian Constitution, and promised a plebiscite on the issue of same-sex marriage.

Abbott's "budget repair" measures proved unpopular, with his government's austere 2014 budget being widely criticised.[12] Due to Abbott's poor opinion polling and personal unpopularity, he was defeated by rival Malcolm Turnbull in a September 2015 leadership spill, and replaced as prime minister.[13][14] He remained in the Parliament as a backbencher, until he lost his seat of Warringah to independent candidate Zali Steggall at the 2019 federal election.[15][16] In September 2020, he was named an adviser to the British government's Board of Trade.[17] Abbott continues to contribute to international public debate as a writer, public speaker and advocate for conservative causes. He is often ranked in the lower tier of Australian prime ministers.[18]

Early life

Birth and family background

Abbott was born on 4 November 1957 at the General Lying-In Hospital in Lambeth, London, England. He is the oldest of four children born to Fay (née Peters; b. 1933) and Richard Henry "Dick" Abbott (1924–2017).[19] He has three younger sisters, including Christine Forster, who has also been involved in politics.[20] His mother was born in Sydney,[20] while his father was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.[19]

At age 16, Dick Abbott moved to Australia with his parents.[21] Two years later, in 1942, he was called up to the Royal Australian Air Force. Dick Abbott and his mother returned to the UK in 1954 where he met and married Fay Peters, a dietitian.[22]

Childhood and education

On 7 September 1960, Abbott, his parents, and younger sister Jane, left the UK for Australia on the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme ship SS Oronsay.[23][24] Settling in Sydney, the family first lived in the suburb of Bronte and later moved to Chatswood.[25] Dick Abbott established what was to become one of the largest orthodontics practices in Australia, retiring in 2002.[24]

Abbott attended primary school at St Aloysius' College at Milson's Point, before completing his secondary school education at St Ignatius' College, Riverview, both Jesuit schools.[26] During his time at St Ignatius' College, one was his teachers was John Kennedy, who would later go on to serve as the member for Hawthorn.[27][28] He graduated with a Bachelor of Economics (BEc) in 1979 and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in 1981[4] from the University of Sydney. He resided at St John's College and was president of the Student Representative Council.[29] Influenced by his chaplain at St Ignatius', Father Emmet Costello, he then attended The Queen's College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar, where in June 1983 he graduated as a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) and on 21 October 1989 proceeded by seniority to Master of Arts.[30][31][32][33]

During his university days, Abbott gained media attention for political opposition to the then dominant left-wing student leadership. Once he was violently beaten at a university conference.[34] According to the Sun-Herald newspaper, it was "an ugly and often violent time", and Abbott's tactics in student politics were like "an aggressive terrier".[35] Abbott organised rallies in support of Governor-General John Kerr after he dismissed the Whitlam government in November 1975, as well as a pro-Falklands War demonstration during his time at Oxford.[36] At St. Ignatius College, Abbott had been taught and influenced by the Jesuits. At university, he encountered B. A. Santamaria, a Catholic layman who led a movement against Communism within the Australian labour movement in the 1950s, culminating in the 1955 Labor Party split and the formation of the Democratic Labor Party.[34] Santamaria has been described as Abbott's "political hero". He wrote the foreword to a novelisation of Santamaria's life written by Alan Reid, and in 2015 launched a biography of Santamaria written by Gerard Henderson.[37] In 1977, Abbott faced charges of common and indecent assault after allegedly groping trainee teacher Helen Wilson while she was making a speech at the College of Advanced Education in Kuring-gai, Sydney. Abbott pleaded not guilty, and the charges were ultimately dropped.[38][39]

Abbott was a student boxer, earning two Blues for boxing while at Oxford.[40][41][42][43]

When Abbott was a student, on one occasion he rescued a child who had been pulled out into the sea by the current. On another occasion, while drinking at a pub, he helped rescue children from the burning house next door. On both of these occasions, he left the scene after the rescues and did not wait to be thanked.[44]

Early adult life and pre-political career

Following his time in Britain, Abbott returned to Australia and told his family of his intention to join the priesthood. In 1984 at the age of 26, he entered St Patrick's Seminary, Manly.[34] Abbott did not complete his studies at the seminary, leaving the institution in 1987. Interviewed before the 2013 election, Abbott said of his time as a trainee priest: "The Jesuits had helped to instil in me this thought that our calling in life was to be, to use the phrase: 'a man for others'. And I thought then that the best way in which I could be a 'man for others' was to become a priest. I discovered pretty soon that I was a bit of a square peg in a round hole … eventually working out that, I'm afraid, I just didn't have what it took to be an effective priest."[45]

Abbott worked in journalism, briefly ran a concrete plant, and began to get involved in national politics.[34] Throughout his time as a student and seminarian, he was writing articles for newspapers and magazines—first for Honi Soit (the University of Sydney student newspaper) and later The Catholic Weekly and national publications such as The Bulletin. He eventually became a journalist and wrote for The Australian.[29]

At birth, Abbott was a British citizen[46] by birth in the UK and by descent from his British-born father. He did not hold Australian citizenship from birth, as at the time Australian citizenship by descent could only be acquired from the father. Abbott became a naturalised Australian citizen on 26 June 1981, apparently so as to become eligible for a Rhodes scholarship. On 12 October 1993, he renounced his British citizenship to be eligible to run for parliament under section 44 of the constitution.[47]

Political career

Early career

Abbott began his public life when he was employed as a journalist for The Bulletin, an influential news magazine, and later for The Australian newspaper.[29] While deciding his future career path, Abbott developed friendships with senior figures in the New South Wales Labor Party, and was encouraged by Bob Carr, as well as Johno Johnson, to join the Labor Party and run for office. Abbott felt uncomfortable with the role of unions within the party, however, and wrote in his biography that he felt Labor "just wasn't the party for me."[48] For a time he worked as a plant manager for Pioneer Concrete before becoming press secretary to Liberal Leader John Hewson from 1990 to 1993, helping to develop the Fightback! policy.[29]

Prime Minister John Howard wrote in his autobiography that Abbott considered working on his staff before accepting the position with The Bulletin, and it was on Howard's recommendation that Hewson engaged Abbott. According to Howard, he and Abbott established a good rapport, but Hewson and Abbott fell out shortly before the 1993 election, and Abbott ended up in search of work following the re-election of the Keating government.[49] He was approached to head Australians for Constitutional Monarchy (ACM), the main group organising support for the maintenance of the Monarchy in Australia amidst the Keating government's campaign for a change to a republic.[49] Abbott renounced his British citizenship in 1993.[50] Between 1993 and 1994, Abbott was Executive Director of ACM.[4] According to biographer Michael Duffy, Abbott's involvement with ACM "strengthened his relationship with John Howard, who in 1994 suggested he seek pre-selection for a by-election in the seat of Warringah".[51] Howard provided a glowing reference and Abbott won pre-selection for the safe Liberal seat.[52]

Despite his conservative leanings, Abbott acknowledged he voted for Labor in the 1988 NSW state election as he thought that "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.[53]

Member of Parliament, 1994–2009

 
Tony Abbott in 1996

Abbott won Liberal preselection for the federal Division of Warringah by-election in March 1994 following the resignation of Michael MacKellar. He easily held the safe Liberal seat in the Liberals' traditional Northern Beaches heartland, suffering a swing of only 1 percentage point in the primary vote.[54] He easily won the seat in his own right at the 1996 general election. Before 2019, he only dropped below 59 percent of the two-party vote once, in 2001; that year independent Peter Macdonald, the former member for the state seat of Manly, held Abbott to only 55 percent.

Abbott was the parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (1996–1998), 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 early 2002 to October 2007, he was also the Leader of the House in the House of Representatives.[55]

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 leader Pauline Hanson.[56] Prime Minister John Howard denied any knowledge of existence of such a fund.[57] Abbott was also accused of offering funds to One Nation dissident Terry Sharples to support his court battle against the party. However, Howard defended the honesty of Abbott in this matter.[58] Abbott conceded that the political threat One Nation posed to the Howard government was "a very big factor" in his decision to pursue the legal attack, but he also claimed to be acting "in Australia's national interest". Howard also defended Abbott's actions saying "It's the job of the Liberal Party to politically attack other parties – there's nothing wrong with that."[59]

As a Parliamentary Secretary, Abbott oversaw the establishment of the Green Corps program which involved young people in environmental restoration work.[60][61] 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.[62][63][64][65] 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.[66][67]

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.[68]

Cabinet minister (1998–2007)

When Abbott was promoted to the Cabinet in 1998, Prime Minister Howard described him as an effective performer with an endearing style, whereas the Opposition described him as a "bomb thrower."[64] Howard appointed Abbott to replace Kay Patterson as Minister for Health in 2003, during a period of contentious Medicare reform and a crisis in Medical indemnity Insurance, in which the price of insurance was forcing doctors out of practice.[69][70] The Australian Medical Association was threatening to pull out all Australian doctors.[71] Abbott worked with the states to address the crisis and keep the system running.[67]

Health care initiatives instigated by Abbott include the Nurse Family Partnership, a long term scheme aimed at improving conditions for indigenous youth by improving mother-child relationships. The scheme was successful in reducing child abuse and improving school retention rates.[71]

In 2005, Abbott was holidaying with his family in Bali when the Bali bombings occurred. Abbott visited the victims of the bombings in hospital, and in his capacity as Health Minister organised for Australians who required lifesaving emergency surgery and hospitalisation to be flown to Singapore.[72]

In 2006, Abbott controversially opposed access to the abortion drug RU486, and the Parliament voted to strip Health Ministers of the power to regulate this area of policy.[73] During this time, Abbott likened the act of having an abortion to committing a murder, saying "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".[74]

Abbott 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).[75][76][77][78]

According to Sydney Morning Herald's political editor, Peter Hartcher, before the defeat of the Howard government at the 2007 election, 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.[67] John Howard wrote in his 2010 autobiography that Abbott was "never a zealot about pursuing industrial relations changes" and expressed "concern about making too many changes" during Cabinet's discussion of WorkChoices.[79]

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, complained that Abbott was unavailable to collect a petition.[80] In The Australian Doctor's 2015 poll, Tony Abbott was ranked as the third "worst health minister in 35 years", as voted on by doctors. Peter Dutton was ranked the overall worst.[81]

Shadow minister (2007–2009)

The Coalition lost government in 2007 and Abbott was re-elected to the seat of Warringah with a 1.8% swing toward the Labor Party.[82] Following Peter Costello'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."[83] He said he would not rule out contesting the leadership at some time in the future.[84] Of the three candidates, Abbott was the only one who had previous experience in Opposition. Nelson was elected Liberal leader in December 2007 and Abbott was assigned the Shadow Portfolio of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.[85] 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;[86] spent time teaching at remote Aboriginal communities;[87] 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.[88]

During this period in Opposition, Abbott wrote Battlelines, a biography and reflection on the Howard government, and potential future policy direction for the Liberal Party.[89] 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,[90] and discussed family law reform, multiculturalism, 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".[91][92]

The number of unauthorised immigrant arrivals in boats to Australia increased during 2008.[93] 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 unauthorised immigrants upon boats arriving, particularly during the Oceanic Viking affair of October 2009, saying, "John Howard found a problem and created a solution. Kevin Rudd found a solution and has now created a problem".[94]

During November 2009, Abbott resigned from shadow ministerial responsibilities due to the Liberal Party's position on the Rudd government's Emissions trading Scheme (ETS), leading to the resignation of other shadow ministers.[95]

Leader of the Opposition (2009–2013)

 
Abbott in 2012, as Leader of the Opposition

On 1 December 2009, Abbott was elected to the position of Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia over Turnbull and Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey. Abbott proposed blocking the government's ETS in the Senate whereas Turnbull sought to amend the bill which the majority of the Liberal Party did not support.[96] Abbott named his Shadow Cabinet on 8 December 2009.[97]

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 Coalition 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.[98]

When appointed to the Liberal leadership, Abbott's Catholicism and moral beliefs became subjects of repeated media questioning. Various commentators suggested that his traditionalist views would polarise female voters.[99] He told press gallery journalist Laurie Oakes that he did not do doorstop interviews in front of church but regularly faced pointed questions about his faith which were not being put to Prime Minister Rudd, who conducted weekly church door press conferences following his attendances at Anglican services.[100]

Abbott reportedly missed the 2009 vote on the Rudd government $42 billion stimulus package because he fell asleep in his parliamentary office after a night of drinking. When asked by a journalist whether he had been drunk, Abbott said "that is an impertinent question" and that he "wasn't keeping count" but thought it was "maybe two" bottles of wine.[101][102]

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 … it's a fact of life and I try to treat people as people and not put them in pigeonholes."[103] In later interviews Abbott apologised for the remark.[104][105] In 2013, Abbott stated on 3AW that if his sister Christine Forster were to have a marriage ceremony with her partner Virginia he would attend.[106][107][108][109]

 
Attending the 2010 Anzac Day National Service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra

In March 2010, Abbott, announced a new policy initiative to provide for six months paid parental leave, funded by an increase in corporate tax by 1.7 percentage points on all taxable company income above $5 million. Business groups and the government opposed the plan, however it won support from the Australian Greens.[110]

While 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 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 believed that the Queensland law would 'block the economic development' of indigenous land, and interfere with Aboriginal land rights.[111]

Abbott completed an Ironman Triathlon event in March 2010 at Port Macquarie, New South Wales. In April he set out on a 9-day charity bike ride between Melbourne and Sydney, the annual Pollie Pedal, generating political debate about whether he should have committed so much time to physical fitness.[112][113] Abbott 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."[114]

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.[115][116][117]

2010 election

Main article: 2010 Australian federal election

On 24 June 2010, Julia Gillard replaced Kevin Rudd as Australian Labor Party leader and prime minister.[118] The replacement of a first-term prime minister was unusual in Australian political history and the Rudd-Gillard rivalry remained a vexed issue for the Gillard government into the 2010 election and its subsequent term. On 17 July, Gillard called the 2010 federal election for 21 August.[119] Polls in the first week gave a view that Labor would be re-elected with an increased majority, with Newspoll and an Essential poll showing a lead of 10 points (55–45) two party preferred.[120]

The two leaders met for one official debate during the campaign. Studio audience surveys by Channel 9 and Seven Network suggested a win to Gillard.[120] 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 around government debt, taxation and asylum seekers. An exit poll of the Rooty Hill RSL audience accorded Abbott victory.[121] Gillard won the audience poll at Broncos Leagues Club meeting in Brisbane on 18 August.[122] Abbott appeared for public questioning on the ABC's Q&A program on 16 August.[123]

Labor and the Coalition each won 72 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives,[124] four short of the requirement for majority government, resulting in the first hung parliament since the 1940 election.[125][126][127]

Abbott and Gillard commenced a 17-day period of negotiation with 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.[128][129] Following the negotiations, Gillard formed a minority government with the support of an Australian Greens MP and three independent MPs on the basis of confidence and supply. 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.[130] The Coalition finished with 49.88 percent of the two party preferred vote,[131] obtaining a national swing of around 2.6%.[132]

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 they eventually allowed the analysis. Treasury endorsed Labor's budget costings but projected that Coalition policies would add between $860 million and $4.5 billion to the bottom line over the next four years, rather than the $11.5 billion projected by the Coalition.[133][134][135] The close result was lauded by former Prime Minister John Howard, who wrote in 2010 that Abbott had shifted the dynamic of Australian politics after coming to the leadership in 2009 and "deserves hero status among Liberals".[136]

After the 2010 election

Following the 2010 election, Abbott and his deputy, Julie Bishop, were re-elected unopposed as leaders of the Liberal Party.[137] 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.[138] Abbott announced that he wanted Turnbull to prosecute the Opposition's case against the Gillard government's proposed expenditure on a National Broadband Network.[139]

Following the 2010–2011 Queensland floods, 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.[140] Abbott announced a proposal for a taskforce to examine further construction of dams in Australia to deal with flood impact and food security.[141]

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".[142] Although Abbott had previously stated that he considered a carbon tax the best way to set a price on carbon,[143] he opposed Prime Minister Gillard's February 2011 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 ruled out the introduction of a carbon tax in the lead up to the 2010 election.[144]

In April 2011, Abbott proposed consultation with Indigenous people over a bipartisan Federal Government intervention in Northern Territory towns including 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.[145] April saw Abbott announce a $430 million policy plan to improve the employment prospects of people with serious mental health problems.[146]

Following the first Gillard government budget in May 2011, Abbott used his budget-reply speech to reiterate his critiques of government policy and call for an early election over the issue of a carbon tax.[147] Rhetorically echoing Liberal party founder, Robert Menzies, Abbott addressed remarks to the "forgotten families".[148]

In June 2011, Abbott for the first time led Gillard in a Newspoll as preferred prime minister.[149] In September 2011, he 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.[150] The head of the Northern Australia Land and Water Taskforce expressed concerns about the economic and environmental viability of this plan as well as its effects on the indigenous Australian communities in northern Australia.[151]

Reflecting on indigenous issues on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on Australia Day 2012, Abbott said that there had been many positive developments in indigenous affairs in recent decades including Rudd's apology and moves to include indigenous Australians in the Australian Constitution. Later that day, Abbott became the target of protesters from the "Embassy" after one of Gillard's advisers contacted a union official who advised Tent Embassy protesters of Abbott's whereabouts and misrepresented Abbott's views on Aboriginal affairs to them, saying he intended to "pull down" the embassy. A major security scare resulted, which was broadcast around the world, resulting in Gillard and Abbott being rushed to a government car amid a throng of security due to fears for their safety.[152]

 
Lake to Lagoon competitors at the starting line, including Tony Abbott, Wagga Wagga, 2012

In an address to the National Press Club on 31 January 2012, Abbott outlined some of his plans for government if elected. These included an intent to live one week of every year in an indigenous Australian community, and to prune government expenditure and cut taxes. Abbott also announced "aspirational" targets for a disability insurance scheme and a subsidised dentistry program once the budget had been restored to "strong surplus".[153]

Abbott responded to the February 2012 Labor leadership crisis by criticising the cross bench independents for keeping Labor in power and renewed his calls for a general election to select the next Prime Minister of Australia.[154]

In criticising the Gillard government on foreign policy, Abbott said that "foreign policy should have a Jakarta rather than a Geneva focus".[155] Following his attendance at the 10th anniversary commemoration of the Bali bombing in Bali, Abbott travelled to Jakarta with his Shadow Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Immigration for a meeting with Indonesian President Yudhoyono and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.[156] Abbott promised a "no-surprises principle" for dealings with Indonesia. The presidential reception was an unusual occurrence for an opposition leader.[157]

In November 2012, Abbott launched his fourth book, A Strong Australia, a compilation of nine of his "landmark speeches" from 2012, including his budget reply and National Press Club addresses.[158]

Gillard misogyny speech

On 9 October 2012, Prime Minister Julia Gillard accused Tony Abbott of misogyny and hypocrisy in a speech to Parliament that gained international notice.[159][160]

Prime Minister (2013–2015)

Main article: Abbott government

Early policy implementation

 
Tony Abbott being sworn in as Prime Minister by Quentin Bryce, 18 September 2013

At the federal election on 7 September 2013, Abbott led the Liberal-National coalition to victory over the incumbent Labor government, led by Kevin Rudd. Abbott and his ministry were sworn in on 18 September 2013.[161][162] He was the subject of criticism for his decision to only include one woman, Deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop, in his cabinet.[163][164]

On the first day of the new Parliament, Abbott introduced legislation into Parliament to repeal the Carbon Tax, and commenced Operation Sovereign Borders, the Coalition's policy to stop the maritime arrival of asylum seekers, which received strong public support.[165]

Abbott announced a Royal Commission into trade union governance and corruption on 11 February 2014.[166] This was followed by amendments to the Fair Work Act,[167] and a "Repeal Day", where more than 10,000 "red tape" regulations were repealed.[168]

As Prime Minister, Abbott oversaw free trade agreements signed with Japan, South Korea and China.[169][170][171]

The Carbon Tax Repeal Bill passed both houses of Parliament on 17 July 2014 and the Mining Tax Repeal Bill passed both houses of Parliament on 2 September 2014 after negotiations with the Palmer United Party.[172][173]

 
Abbott and Andrew Robb signing the Free Trade Agreement with president and Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, November 2014
 
Abbott meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry

2014 budget

The 2014 Australian federal budget, the Abbott government's first budget, delivered by Treasurer Joe Hockey, was criticised by the Opposition as "cruel" and "unfair" and a large number of budget saving measures were blocked by the crossbench in the Senate. Hockey and Abbott were both criticised for their inability to "sell" the necessity of the budget cuts to the cross bench or the public. Hockey was further criticised for several "out of touch" and "insensitive" comments in subsequent months, however, the prime minister continuously publicly backed the treasurer, refusing to replace him with a better performing minister.[174]

Knighting of Prince Philip

On 25 March 2014, Abbott announced that he had advised the Queen to reinstate the knight and dame system of honours to the Order of Australia. Outgoing Governor-General Quentin Bryce and her successor, Peter Cosgrove, became the first recipients of the reinstated honours. On Australia Day 2015, Abbott announced that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen's husband and a resident of the United Kingdom, would be appointed a Knight of the Order of Australia. This decision was widely criticised, including by members of the government, and fuelled speculation that the prime minister's leadership could be challenged.[175] On 2 November 2015, new prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced that knights and dames had been removed from the Order of Australia, as "not appropriate in our modern honours system", although existing titles would not be affected.[176][177]

February 2015 leadership spill

Main article: February 2015 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill motion

On 6 February 2015, Liberal backbencher Luke Simpkins announced that he would move a motion, at a meeting of the party room, for a spill of the federal Liberal Party's leadership positions. Simpkins stated that such a motion would give Liberal members of parliament and senators the opportunity to either endorse the Prime Minister or "seek a new direction."[178] The meeting was held on 9 February 2015 and the spill motion was defeated by 61 votes to 39.[179] Both Malcolm Turnbull and deputy leader Julie Bishop were speculated to be considering a leadership run if the spill motion had succeeded.[180] Prime Minister Abbott described the leadership motion as a "near death experience" and declared that "good government starts today", promising to consult his colleagues more, to shy away from his so-called "captain's calls" and to reduce the role of his chief of staff Peta Credlin.[174]

Operations against Islamic State

Prime Minister Abbott announcing ADF operations against ISIL,10 March 2014

Following the Île-de-France attacks, the Kuwait mosque bombing and the mass shooting in Sousse, Tunisia, Abbott announced that "Isis is at war with Australia."[181] Australia had already begun anti-terrorism measures against the group in 2014.[3] However, by September, the Royal Australian Air Force was readying a wing of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, along with an E-7A Wedgetail and KC-30, for operations in Eastern Syria, making strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[182] The Australian commitment, known as Operation Okra involved 400 personnel, came at the formal request of PresidentBarack Obama. Australian forces integrated with British Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces and other coalition members within Operation Inherent Resolve.[182] It is understood that Australia's air operations were complemented by operations of the 4 Squadron of the Australian Special Air Service Regiment.[183]

Choppergate

In July 2015, Bronwyn Bishop, who had been successfully nominated by Abbott in November 2013 for the position of Speaker of the House, came under intense media scrutiny after details of her use of taxpayer-funded political entitlements were made public, including chartering a helicopter flight between Melbourne and Geelong to attend a Liberal party fundraiser. Abbott was criticised over his handling of the entitlements scandal as he allowed the controversy to drag on for weeks because of his refusal to sack the Speaker, a close friend and political mentor. Despite Abbott's support, Bishop resigned as Speaker on 2 August 2015.[184]

Same-sex marriage debate

During Abbott's prime ministership, Australian law continued to define marriage as a union of a man and a woman, while recognising same-sex couples as de facto couples in areas such as taxation law, social security law, immigration and superannuation, and Abbott did not support changing the law.[185] During Abbott's time as opposition leader and prime minister, the position of the Labor Party and opinion polls shifted towards favouring same-sex marriage. Abbott determined that a national plebiscite, rather than a Parliamentary vote should settle the issue.[186]

As an Opposition front bencher in 2008, Abbott wrote: "The love and commitment between two people of the same sex can be as strong as that between husband and wife... There is more moral quality in a relationship between two people devoted to each other for decades than in many a short-lived marriage. Still, however deeply affectionate or long lasting it may be, the relationship between two people of the same sex cannot be a marriage because a marriage, by definition, is between a man and a woman... Let's celebrate all strong relationships, whether they are between a man and a woman or between people of the same sex but let's be careful about describing every lasting sexual bond as a 'marriage'."[187] The First Rudd government and Gillard government held similar views (although the short-lived second Rudd government reversed Labor's position on the issue).[188][189][190]

Abbott reaffirmed that he did not support changing the law to recognise same-sex marriage, and did not alter Coalition policy on the issue – however he permitted Coalition members to advocate for change if they felt strongly on the issue, and indicated that if a bill were to come before the new parliament, the Coalition party room would discuss its stance on the issue.[191] Opinion polls suggested growing support for change.[192] On 11 August 2015, after renewed debate about same-sex marriage in Australia, Abbott called a Coalition Party room vote and Coalition MPs voted against allowing a free vote on the issue 66 to 33.[193] Some MPs said they were willing to cross the floor on the issue and Abbott was criticised by some pro-gay marriage Liberal MPs, including Christopher Pyne, for holding the vote in the Coalition party room, rather than the Liberal party room (as the inclusion of National Party votes decreased chances of a pro-change outcome).[194] To settle the issue, Abbott proposed a plebiscite following the next election. Although he remained personally opposed to change, he said Parliament should respect the outcome of the national vote on the issue.[195] A national plebiscite regarding same-sex marriage would eventually be held in 2017, under the subsequent Turnbull government.[196]

September 2015 leadership spill

Main article: Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill, September 2015
 
Bronze bust of Tony Abbott at the Prime Minister's Avenue in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens

On 14 September 2015, Malcolm Turnbull, the Minister for Communications, resigned and stated his intention to challenge the Liberal Party leadership in a leadership spill. A party-room meeting held that evening saw Abbott defeated by Turnbull on a 54–44 vote.[197] According to The Economist, Abbott was ousted due to poor opinion polling, lacklustre economic management, and involvement in several political gaffes and scandals.[198] In comments just after the result was announced, Turnbull praised Abbott for his "formidable achievements" as prime minister.[199] By the time he was removed from premiership, Abbott was one of the most unpopular world leaders,[200][201] and he has been regarded by critics and political experts as one of Australia's worst prime ministers.[202][203][204]

Later years in parliament (2015–2019)

After Malcolm Turnbull successfully challenged Abbott for the Liberal Party leadership in 2015, Abbott returned to the government backbench and pledged to remain in Parliament.[205] In a final media conference as Prime Minister, Abbott told reporters: "Leadership changes are never easy for our country. My pledge today is to make this change as easy as I can. There will be no wrecking, no undermining, and no sniping. I've never leaked or backgrounded against anyone. And I certainly won't start now [...] I am proud of what the Abbott government has achieved. We stayed focused despite the white-anting [...] The nature of politics has changed in the past decade. A febrile media culture has developed that rewards treachery. If there's one piece of advice I can give to the media, it's this: refuse to print self-serving claims that the person making them won't put his or her name to. Refuse to connive at dishonour by acting as the assassin's knife."[206]

Turnbull government

Malcolm Turnbull gave the former Prime Minister no portfolio in the new government. As a backbencher, he continued to defend the record of the Abbott government, and speak out on a range of issues. Following the November 2015 Paris attacks, he backed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi call for a "revolution in Islam" in a speech in Singapore, and told Sky News, "All of those things that Islam has never had — a Reformation, an Enlightenment, a well-developed concept of the separation of church and state — that needs to happen."[207] He defended the Abbott government's 2014 Budget measures and called on future Prime Ministers to follow his commitment to spending a week a year in indigenous communities.[207] Abbott declared he would have won the 2016 Election.[208] In a December 2015 editorial, The Sydney Morning Herald accused Abbott of contradicting his undertaking that there would be "no undermining of Malcolm Turnbull".[209]

On 24 January 2016, Abbott confirmed that he would stand for Liberal preselection for the Division of Warringah in the federal election.[210] He was re-elected with a small swing against him, matching the statewide swing against the Government.[211] Following his re-election, he voiced various concerns about the direction of the Turnbull government.[212][213][214] In February 2017, he told a book launch that the Turnbull government was perceived by many conservatives as "Labor lite", and risked a "drift to defeat" at the upcoming election if it failed to improve its performance.[215] Turnbull's ousting of Abbott had divided the Liberal Party rank and file and tensions continued in the parliamentary Party.[216][217][218] Abbott said Turnbull supporters had plotted against him.[219][220]

In the lead up to the 2017 postal survey on same sex marriage, Abbott campaigned for the retention of the status quo.[221] During the campaign, Abbott was headbutted in Hobart by protester Astro Labe, who was sentenced to six months imprisonment.[222][223][224][225][226] Following the "yes" vote in the plebiscite, Abbott said he accepted the result, and that the matter was settled.

In October 2015, The Australian reported that a "poll of 1631 voters shows 62 per cent of Australians believe the Liberal Party did the right thing" in ousting Abbott.[209][227] Abbott was returned as the Member for Warringah at the subsequent election, but the Coalition's majority in the House of Representatives was reduced from 29 seats to one seat. In April 2018, the now-elected Turnbull government reached the 30-consecutive-Newspoll-losses benchmark Turnbull had used to unseat Abbott.[228] Turnbull resigned after losing the support of the Party in room during the Liberal leadership spills of 2018. Abbott supported Peter Dutton in the leadership vote. Following the election of Scott Morrison as party leader, Abbott said the Coalition now had a better chance of re-election in the upcoming poll, telling the Centre for Independent Studies: "I am confident, given the ministerial appointments that he's made, that there will be better policy, there will be a united party, and there will be a sharper difference with our opponents."[229]

Morrison government

Following Turnbull's resignation, Abbott was appointed as Prime Minister Scott Morrison's Special Envoy on Indigenous Affairs, with a brief to focus on indigenous school attendance and performance.[230][231] Abbott presented his first report to Parliament as Special Envoy in December 2018.[232] He recommended increasing substantially the salary supplements and the retention bonuses for teachers in very remote areas; waiving HECS debt of longer term teachers in very remote schools; incentives for communities to adopt debit card arrangements; an extension of the Remote School Attendance Strategy, with more local school buy-in and engagement; extension of the Good to Great Schools program that has reintroduced phonics and disciplined learning for further evaluation and emulation; and that the government should match the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation's private and philanthropic funding on an ongoing basis.[233]

On 18 May 2019, during the federal election, Abbott lost his seat of Warringah to independent candidate and former Olympic skier Zali Steggall, marking the first time the seat had been lost by the Liberals and their predecessors since its creation in 1922.[15] Steggal ran as a pro-climate action candidate and her campaign won extensive media coverage and the backing of the left wing GetUp! lobby group. Abbott went into the election holding Warringah on a two party preferred margin of 61 percent. However, he lost over 12 percent of his primary vote from 2016, and finished over 4,100 votes behind Steggall on the first preference count and over 13,000 after preferences were distributed - losing by 57.2% to 42.8% .[234] Abbott had won the seat at nine elections and served 25 years as the Member for Warringah.

Post-parliamentary career

Abbott has been on the board of the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation since 2016. In 2019 he was appointed to the board of the Australian War Memorial.[235]

On 4 September 2020, Abbott was appointed as an adviser to the UK's Board of Trade with the stated aim of providing "a range of views to help in its advisory function, promoting free and fair trade and advising on UK trade policy to the International Trade Secretary".[17] The role involves advising on the negotiation of international trade deals for the UK, but it was reported that Abbott would not be involved in advising the government on the country's Brexit process. He will be joined on the board by other senior political figures, including Patricia Hewitt, a former UK Secretary of State for Health, Daniel Hannan, a former Member of the European Parliament, and Linda Yueh, a writer and broadcaster. News of the appointment prompted UK Opposition politicians to question his suitability for the job because of comments previously made by Abbott about climate change, women and same-sex marriage. Boris Johnson, the UK's Prime Minister, said that he could not agree with the views of everyone in his government, but that Abbott had been elected as Prime Minister by that "great, liberal democratic nation of Australia" which he said "speaks for itself".[236]

Possible Senate appointment

After the death of Senator Jim Molan,[237] former Victorian Liberal president Michael Kroger in an interview with Sky News Australia suggested the idea of Abbott taking Molan's Senate seat.[238] Opposition Leader Peter Dutton told ABC News that there was ''no question Tony Abbott would be an asset" but also stated that "there will be many other candidates who are very credible as well".[239] Abbott has not confirmed whether he is interested in returning to public life.[239]

Board appointments

In February 2023, Abbott joined the board of UK think-tank Global Warming Policy Foundation which is known for its climate change scepticism.[240]

As of July 2023, he holds the role of a Senior Advisor at New Direction, a think tank affiliated with the European Conservatives and Reformists Party in the European Parliament.[241]

In November 2023, Abbott was appointed to a board seat at Fox Corporation.[235] His nomination came the day after Rupert Murdoch announced his retirement.[242]

Political views

Abbott is a member of the National Right faction of the Liberal Party.[243]

The term "Abbottism" has been coined by several media outlets to refer to his political ideology.[244][245][246][247][248] Abbottism has been compared to several other eponymous political ideologies, namely Hansonism (the views of Pauline Hanson)[249] and Trumpism (the views of Donald Trump).[250]

Aboriginal affairs

Abbott has an active interest in indigenous affairs.[251] As Opposition Leader, Abbott promised to prioritise indigenous affairs.[251] As Prime Minister, Abbott reformed the administration of the portfolio, moving it into the Department of Prime Minister.[252]

As Health Minister, Abbott established the Nurse Family Partnership to improve conditions for indigenous youth. As Opposition Leader, he worked with Cape York Aboriginal activist Noel Pearson, volunteered as a teacher in remote Aboriginal Communities and gave a commitment to continue to live one week a year in such communities if elected prime minister.[253][254] In contrast to his mentor John Howard, Abbott praised Rudd's National Apology to the Stolen Generation.[86][87][88][255]

While the Coalition and Labor were engaged in negotiations with crossbenchers to obtain minority government in 2010, Noel Pearson lobbied Rob Oakeshott to back Abbott.[256] Rising to support the passage of the Gillard government's historic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Bill through the House of Representatives in 2013, Abbott said:[257]

Australia is a blessed country. Our climate, our land, our people, our institutions rightly make us the envy of the earth, except for one thing—we have never fully made peace with the First Australians. This is the stain on our soul that Prime Minister Keating so movingly evoked at Redfern 21 years ago. We have to acknowledge that pre-1788 this land was as Aboriginal then as it is Australian now. Until we have acknowledged that we will be an incomplete nation and a torn people … So our challenge is to do now in these times what should have been done 200 or 100 years ago to acknowledge Aboriginal people in our country's foundation document. In short, we need to atone for the omissions and for the hardness of heart of our forebears to enable us all to embrace the future as a united people.

In November 2012, Abbott flew to Alice Springs to back Aboriginal Country Liberal Party (CLP) MLA Alison Anderson to run in the federal seat of Lingiari and to become the first Indigenous woman to enter Parliament.[258] Anderson eventually did not run as the CLP candidate for Lingiari in the 2013 federal election.

In August 2015, he rejected the request of Aboriginal leaders Patrick Dodson and Noel Pearson for the federal government to fund a series of Indigenous-only conventions on the wording for the referendum, citing concerns it could be potentially divisive.[259]

Abbott opposed the Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the 2023 referendum, arguing it would divide Australians.[260] Abbott served on the advisory board of Advance Australia, a conservative lobby group supporting the No campaign against the Voice.[261]

Constitutional monarchy

Abbott supports the Australian monarchy.[262][263] Before entering parliament, he worked as the Executive Director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy from 1993 to 1994.[264]

In March 2014, Abbott advised the Queen to reintroduce the grade of Knight/Dame to the Order of Australia, without discussing it in the Cabinet[265] and despite stating in December 2013 that he did not plan to do so.[266] The Fraser government initially introduced the grade of Knight/Dame of the Order of Australia in 1976; the Hawke government discontinued it in 1986.

Climate change

Before becoming opposition leader, Abbott initially supported proposals by Liberal leaders Howard and Turnbull to introduce floating prices to reduce carbon emissions, but also expressed some doubts as to the science and economics underlying such initiatives. In 2009, Abbott announced his opposition to Turnbull's support for the Rudd government's Emissions Trading Scheme proposal, and successfully challenged Turnbull for the Liberal leadership, chiefly over this issue.[267][268] As Opposition Leader, Abbott declared that he accepted that climate change was real and that humans were having an impact on it, but rejected carbon pricing as a means to address the issue, proposing instead to match the Labor government's 5% emissions reduction target through implementation of a plan involving financial incentives for emissions reductions by industry, and support for carbon storage in soils and expanded forests.[269] On the eve of the 2013 election, Abbott told the ABC:[270]

[J]ust to make it clear... I think that climate change is real, humanity makes a contribution. It's important to take strong and effective action against it, and that is what our direct action policy does. … The important thing is to take strong and effective action to tackle climate change, action that doesn't damage our economy. And that is why the incentive-based system that we've got, the direct action policies, which are quite similar to those that president Obama has put into practice, is – that's the smart way to deal with this, a big tax is a dumb way to deal with it.

— Abbott on ABC TV Insiders prior to 2013 election.

Before becoming opposition leader in November 2009, Abbott questioned the science of climate change and an ETS. In November 2009, Abbott outlined his objections to the Rudd government's carbon pricing plan on the ABC's Lateline program. 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 the policy – overturning an undertaking by Turnbull to support an amended version of the government's scheme. Under Abbott, the Coalition joined the Greens and voted against the CPRS in the Senate, and the bill was defeated twice, providing a double dissolution trigger.[271] The Rudd government eventually deferred its CPRS legislation until 2013.[271]

With Abbott as opposition leader, the Liberal party opposed a carbon emissions tax and an Emissions Trading Scheme.[272] Abbott predicted in March 2012 that the Gillard government's carbon tax would be the world's "biggest".[273] A January 2013 OECD report on taxation of energy use measured Australia's effective tax rate on carbon at 1 July 2012 as among the lower rates in the OECD.[274] In July 2011, Abbott criticised the proposed powers of the government's carbon tax regulator.[275][276][277]

In October 2017, Abbott spoke in London at the Global Warming Policy Foundation, a climate-skeptic lobby group, where he described climate change as "probably doing good; or at least, more good than harm."[278][279][280] He argued that higher concentrations of carbon dioxide act as "plant food" and "are actually greening the planet and helping to lift agricultural yields."[278][279]

On 15 December 2019, he claimed that the world was "in the grip of a climate cult".[281]

Social policy

Abbott opposed the legislation of same-sex marriage in Australia. Abbott is an opponent of embryonic stem cell research and euthanasia.[282] He supports the right for women to have an abortion.[262][283][284][285] As Health Minister, he tried, but failed, to block the introduction of the abortion pill RU-486.[286] As Health Minister, Abbott advocated for reducing the number of abortions performed each year as a national priority, and referred to abortion as the "easy way out".[287] Abbott opposed allowing the introduction of embryonic stem cell research or therapeutic cloning in a conscience vote.[288]

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.[289] Abbott said that this would be a way of "providing additional recognition to what might be thought of as traditional marriage".[290]

Early on in his Prime Ministership, the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly passed the Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013, a bill to allow same-sex couples to legally marry.[291] Abbott announced that the federal government would challenge this decision in the High Court.[292] The case was heard on 3 December. Nine days later, on 12 December, the High Court gave judgement that the Same Sex Act would be dismantled as it clashed with the Federal Marriage Act 1961.[293] When the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017, which posed the question of whether same-sex couples should be able to marry, was presented to members of parliament, Abbott abstained from voting.[294][295] Ultimately, same-sex marriage would be passed into law in December 2017.[296]

Abbott supported Peter Dutton's call to give "special treatment" to white South African farmers seeking asylum.[297][298]

National Broadband Network

Abbott was opposed to a majority Fibre-to-the-Home (FttH) National Broadband Network (NBN). In 2010, as Leader of the Opposition, Abbott stated that he would "ferociously" hold the Labor government to account over what he believed to be "a white elephant on a massive scale" and would "demolish" the NBN.[299][300]

In 2010, Abbott argued that an LTE network could meet Australia's future broadband needs, with "a tower on every street corner".[301]

In 2011, he called for the NBN to be scrapped entirely with funding diverted to assist with recovery efforts following the Queensland floods, stating "The National Broadband Network is a luxury that Australia cannot now afford. The one thing you don't do is redo your bathroom when your roof has just been blown off."[302]

With Malcolm Turnbull as Shadow Minister for Communications and Broadband, the Liberal/National Coalition proposed an alternative - The Multi-Technology Mix (MTM), which heavily utilised Fibre to the Node (FttN) technology - in the lead up to the 2013 Australian federal election. Abbott said that if elected, all Australians would have access to a minimum broadband speed of 25Mbit/s by the end of their first term of government. They promised download speeds between 25 and 100 Mbit/s by the end of 2016 and 50 to 100 Mbit/s by 2019, with the rollout completed by the end of 2019.[303]

China and Taiwan

Abbott called the AUKUS defense pact between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, which is directed at countering Chinese power in the Indo-Pacific region, "the biggest decision that any Australian government has made in decades" as "it indicates that we are going to stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States and the United Kingdom in meeting the great strategic challenge of our time, which obviously, is China".[304] Abbott said that Australia would be safer as a result, and cited China's increasing naval firepower as a justification for the deal.[304]

Abbott strongly supports the de jure recognition of Taiwan as an independent nation. In 2021, Abbott attended a regional forum hosted in Taipei and met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. During a speech, he stated that he wants to help Taiwan end its isolation from global affairs and reaffirmed Australia's solidarity with the country amid increasing tensions with China.[305][306] In the speech, he also referred to China as a "bully" and Chinese President Xi Jinping as "the new red emperor".[307] Chinese officials highly criticised Abbott's visit and speech,[308] although Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his government defended his visit.[309]

Personal life

In March 2020, an Australian computer security researcher obtained Abbott's passport number and personal phone number after Abbott posted a photo of his aeroplane boarding pass on Instagram. The researcher found a security flaw in the online check-in portal of the airline carrier Qantas, that divulged sensitive information given details printed on the pass.[310][311][312][313]

Abbott has admitted to having smoked cannabis once.[314]

In September 2021, during the second COVID-19 lockdown in Sydney, Abbott was fined $500 for not wearing a mask in breach of COVID-19 health orders.[315][316][317]

Marriage and children

 
Margie and Tony Abbott at a Canberra event welcoming returning troops in 2015

When Abbott was 22, his girlfriend at the time became pregnant and claimed he was the biological father. The couple did not marry and put the child up for adoption. For 27 years, Abbott believed that he was the father of the child.[318] In 2004, the man sought out Abbott, and it was publicly revealed he was an ABC sound recordist who worked in Parliament House, Canberra, and was involved in making television programs in which Abbott appeared.[319] The story was reported around the world, but DNA testing later revealed that Abbott was not the man's father.[320]

Following his departure from the seminary, Abbott met and married Margaret "Margie" Aitken, a New Zealander working in Sydney.[321] The couple have three daughters (Louise, Bridget and Frances),[29][322] and became grandparents in 2021.[323]

Religion

Abbott is a Roman Catholic.[324][325] Before the 2013 Election, Abbott spoke of his religious outlook:

The Jesuits helped to instill in me this thought that our calling in life was to be … 'a man for others' … I am a pretty traditional Catholic... I'm not an evangelical, a charismatic Christian, I'm not. I try to attend Mass, but I don't get there every Sunday any more... Faith has certainly helped to shape my life, but it doesn't in any way determine my politics".

— Tony Abbott on ABC TV's Kitchen Cabinet; September 2013.[45]

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. According to John Warhurst of 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."[326] 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".[327] Abbott has said that a politician should not rely on religion to justify a political point of view:[262]

We are all influenced by a value system that we hold, but in the end, every decision that a politician makes is, or at least should, in our society be based on the normal sorts of considerations. It's got to be publicly justifiable; not only justifiable in accordance with a private view; a private belief.

— Abbott on ABC TV Four Corners, March 2010.

Various political positions supported by Abbott have been criticised by church representatives, including aspects of Coalition industrial relations, asylum seeker, and Aboriginal affairs policies.[328][329] 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."[328]

Community service

 
Tony Abbott competing in the Lake to Lagoon in Wagga Wagga

Abbott is an active volunteer member for the Davidson, NSW Rural Fire Service.[330] He is also an active volunteer member of the Queenscliff Surf Life Saving Club.[331]

Abbott participates in the Pollie Pedal, an annual 1,000 km charity bike ride. In April 2007, he launched the tenth annual Pollie Pedal, to raise money for breast cancer research.[332]

In 2008, Abbott spent three weeks teaching in a remote Aboriginal settlement in Coen on Cape York, organised through Indigenous leader Noel Pearson. He taught remedial reading to Aboriginal children and worked with an income management group helping families manage their welfare payments. In 2009, he spent 10 days in Aurukun on Cape York working with the truancy team, visiting children who had not been attending school. Abbott's stated goal for these visits was to familiarise himself with Indigenous issues.[333][334]

Writings

Abbott has published four books. In 2009, he launched Battlelines; a personal biography, reflections on the Howard government and discussion of potential policy directions for the Liberal Party of Australia.[264] Previously he had published two books in defence of the existing constitutional monarchy system, The Minimal Monarchy and How to Win the Constitutional War. In 2012, he released a compilation of key speeches from that year, entitled A Strong Australia.[158]

  • Abbott, Tony (1995). The Minimal Monarchy: and why it still makes sense for Australia. Kent Town South Australia: Wakefield Press. ISBN 1-86254-358-5.
  • Abbott, Tony (1997). How to Win the Constitutional War: and give both sides what they want. Kent Town South Australia: Wakefield Press. ISBN 1-86254-433-6.
  • Abbott, Tony (2009). Battlelines. Carlton Victoria Australia: Melbourne University Press. ISBN 978-0-522-85606-4.
  • Abbott, Tony (2012). A Strong Australia. Liberal Party of Australia. ISBN 978-0-646-59033-2.

Honours

       

National

State medals

  •   New South Wales: 8 March 2015 Rural Fire Service Long Service Medal, for ten years of long service[338]

Foreign medals

See also

References

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January 01, 1970
tony, abbott, other, people, named, disambiguation, anthony, john, abbott, born, november, 1957, australian, former, politician, served, 28th, prime, minister, australia, from, 2013, 2015, held, office, leader, liberal, party, australia, honourableacabbott, 20. For other people named Tony Abbott see Tony Abbott disambiguation Anthony John Abbott AC ˈ ae b e t 3 born 4 November 1957 is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015 He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia 4 The HonourableTony AbbottACAbbott in 201028th Prime Minister of AustraliaIn office 18 September 2013 15 September 2015MonarchElizabeth IIGovernors GeneralDame Quentin BryceSir Peter CosgroveDeputyWarren TrussPreceded byKevin RuddSucceeded byMalcolm TurnbullLeader of the OppositionIn office 1 December 2009 18 September 2013Prime MinisterKevin RuddJulia GillardDeputyJulie BishopPreceded byMalcolm TurnbullSucceeded byChris BowenLeader of the Liberal PartyIn office 1 December 2009 14 September 2015DeputyJulie BishopPreceded byMalcolm TurnbullSucceeded byMalcolm TurnbullLeader of the HouseIn office 12 February 2002 3 December 2007Prime MinisterJohn HowardPreceded byPeter ReithSucceeded byAnthony AlbaneseCabinet PositionsMinister for Health and AgeingIn office 7 October 2003 3 December 2007Prime MinisterJohn HowardDeputyChristopher PynePreceded byKay PattersonSucceeded byNicola RoxonMinister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public ServiceIn office 26 November 2001 7 October 2003Prime MinisterJohn HowardPreceded byDavid KempSucceeded byKevin AndrewsMinister for Employment and Workplace RelationsIn office 30 January 2001 7 October 2003Prime MinisterJohn HowardDeputyMal BroughPreceded byPeter ReithSucceeded byKevin AndrewsMinister for Employment ServicesIn office 21 October 1998 30 January 2001Prime MinisterJohn HowardLeaderPeter ReithPreceded byChris EllisonSucceeded byMal BroughMember of the Australian Parliament for WarringahIn office 26 March 1994 18 May 2019Preceded byMichael MacKellarSucceeded byZali SteggallDirector of the Australians for Constitutional Monarchy GroupIn office 4 June 1992 18 February 1994Preceded byorganisation establishedSucceeded byKerry JonesPersonal detailsBornAnthony John Abbott 1957 11 04 4 November 1957 age 66 Lambeth London EnglandCitizenshipAustralianBritish 1957 1993 Political partyLiberalOther politicalaffiliationsDemocratic Labor 1979 SpouseMargie Aitken m 1988 wbr Children3 1 2 EducationSt Aloysius College Saint Ignatius CollegeAlma materSt John s College University of Sydney BEc LLB Queen s College Oxford MA ProfessionJournalistbusinessmanpoliticianSignatureWebsitewww wbr tonyabbott wbr com wbr auTony Abbott s voice source source Abbott speaking about Australia s relationship with Latin America29 May 2014 Abbott was born in London England to an Australian mother and a British father and moved to Sydney at the age of two He studied economics and law at the University of Sydney and then attended The Queen s College Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar studying Philosophy Politics and Economics After graduating from Oxford Abbott briefly trained as a Roman Catholic seminarian and later worked as a journalist manager and political adviser In 1992 he was appointed director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy a position he held until his election to parliament as a member of parliament MP for the division of Warringah at the 1994 Warringah by election before the election of the Howard government in 1996 Following the 1998 election Abbott was appointed Minister for Employment Services in the second Howard ministry He was promoted to cabinet in 2001 as Minister for Employment Workplace Relations and Small Business In 2003 Abbott became Minister for Health and Ageing retaining this position until the defeat of the Howard government at the 2007 election Initially serving in the shadow cabinets of Brendan Nelson and then Malcolm Turnbull Abbott resigned from the front bench in November 2009 in protest against Turnbull s support for the Rudd government s proposed Emissions Trading Scheme ETS 5 Forcing a leadership ballot on the subject Abbott narrowly defeated Turnbull to become the party s leader and leader of the opposition Abbott led the Liberal National Coalition to the 2010 federal election which resulted in a hung parliament and an eventual victory for the Australian Labor Party ALP 6 Abbott remained leader and led the Coalition to a landslide victory at the 2013 election After assuming office the Abbott government implemented Operation Sovereign Borders in an effort to halt illegal maritime arrivals 7 It abolished several reforms enacted by the preceding government including the Minerals Resource Rent Tax and Australia s carbon pricing scheme 8 9 His government aimed to rein in a federal budget deficit that reached A 48 5 billion by June 2014 10 and established the National Commission of Audit to advise on restoring the federal budget to surplus Abbott instituted the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption founded the Medical Research Future Fund and produced white papers on developing Northern Australia and the Agricultural Competitiveness In international affairs Abbott concluded free trade agreements with China Japan and South Korea He challenged the Russian president Vladimir Putin over Russia s actions in Ukraine and over the shooting down of Malaysian Flight MH17 in Ukraine He committed Australian forces to the battle against ISIS during the Syrian conflict and agreed to resettle an additional 12 000 refugees from the region 11 He launched the New Colombo Plan to encourage educational exchange with the Indo Pacific region Domestically Abbott campaigned for recognition of Indigenous Australians in the Australian Constitution and promised a plebiscite on the issue of same sex marriage Abbott s budget repair measures proved unpopular with his government s austere 2014 budget being widely criticised 12 Due to Abbott s poor opinion polling and personal unpopularity he was defeated by rival Malcolm Turnbull in a September 2015 leadership spill and replaced as prime minister 13 14 He remained in the Parliament as a backbencher until he lost his seat of Warringah to independent candidate Zali Steggall at the 2019 federal election 15 16 In September 2020 he was named an adviser to the British government s Board of Trade 17 Abbott continues to contribute to international public debate as a writer public speaker and advocate for conservative causes He is often ranked in the lower tier of Australian prime ministers 18 Contents 1 Early life 1 1 Birth and family background 1 2 Childhood and education 1 3 Early adult life and pre political career 2 Political career 2 1 Early career 2 2 Member of Parliament 1994 2009 2 2 1 Cabinet minister 1998 2007 2 2 2 Shadow minister 2007 2009 3 Leader of the Opposition 2009 2013 3 1 2010 election 3 2 After the 2010 election 3 2 1 Gillard misogyny speech 4 Prime Minister 2013 2015 4 1 Early policy implementation 4 2 2014 budget 4 3 Knighting of Prince Philip 4 4 February 2015 leadership spill 4 5 Operations against Islamic State 4 6 Choppergate 4 7 Same sex marriage debate 4 8 September 2015 leadership spill 5 Later years in parliament 2015 2019 6 Post parliamentary career 6 1 Possible Senate appointment 6 2 Board appointments 7 Political views 7 1 Aboriginal affairs 7 2 Constitutional monarchy 7 3 Climate change 7 4 Social policy 7 5 National Broadband Network 7 6 China and Taiwan 8 Personal life 8 1 Marriage and children 8 2 Religion 9 Community service 10 Writings 11 Honours 11 1 National 11 2 State medals 11 3 Foreign medals 12 See also 13 References 14 Further reading 15 External linksEarly lifeBirth and family background Abbott was born on 4 November 1957 at the General Lying In Hospital in Lambeth London England He is the oldest of four children born to Fay nee Peters b 1933 and Richard Henry Dick Abbott 1924 2017 19 He has three younger sisters including Christine Forster who has also been involved in politics 20 His mother was born in Sydney 20 while his father was born in Newcastle upon Tyne England 19 At age 16 Dick Abbott moved to Australia with his parents 21 Two years later in 1942 he was called up to the Royal Australian Air Force Dick Abbott and his mother returned to the UK in 1954 where he met and married Fay Peters a dietitian 22 Childhood and education On 7 September 1960 Abbott his parents and younger sister Jane left the UK for Australia on the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme ship SS Oronsay 23 24 Settling in Sydney the family first lived in the suburb of Bronte and later moved to Chatswood 25 Dick Abbott established what was to become one of the largest orthodontics practices in Australia retiring in 2002 24 Abbott attended primary school at St Aloysius College at Milson s Point before completing his secondary school education at St Ignatius College Riverview both Jesuit schools 26 During his time at St Ignatius College one was his teachers was John Kennedy who would later go on to serve as the member for Hawthorn 27 28 He graduated with a Bachelor of Economics BEc in 1979 and a Bachelor of Laws LLB in 1981 4 from the University of Sydney He resided at St John s College and was president of the Student Representative Council 29 Influenced by his chaplain at St Ignatius Father Emmet Costello he then attended The Queen s College Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar where in June 1983 he graduated as a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy Politics and Economics PPE and on 21 October 1989 proceeded by seniority to Master of Arts 30 31 32 33 During his university days Abbott gained media attention for political opposition to the then dominant left wing student leadership Once he was violently beaten at a university conference 34 According to the Sun Herald newspaper it was an ugly and often violent time and Abbott s tactics in student politics were like an aggressive terrier 35 Abbott organised rallies in support of Governor General John Kerr after he dismissed the Whitlam government in November 1975 as well as a pro Falklands War demonstration during his time at Oxford 36 At St Ignatius College Abbott had been taught and influenced by the Jesuits At university he encountered B A Santamaria a Catholic layman who led a movement against Communism within the Australian labour movement in the 1950s culminating in the 1955 Labor Party split and the formation of the Democratic Labor Party 34 Santamaria has been described as Abbott s political hero He wrote the foreword to a novelisation of Santamaria s life written by Alan Reid and in 2015 launched a biography of Santamaria written by Gerard Henderson 37 In 1977 Abbott faced charges of common and indecent assault after allegedly groping trainee teacher Helen Wilson while she was making a speech at the College of Advanced Education in Kuring gai Sydney Abbott pleaded not guilty and the charges were ultimately dropped 38 39 Abbott was a student boxer earning two Blues for boxing while at Oxford 40 41 42 43 When Abbott was a student on one occasion he rescued a child who had been pulled out into the sea by the current On another occasion while drinking at a pub he helped rescue children from the burning house next door On both of these occasions he left the scene after the rescues and did not wait to be thanked 44 Early adult life and pre political career Following his time in Britain Abbott returned to Australia and told his family of his intention to join the priesthood In 1984 at the age of 26 he entered St Patrick s Seminary Manly 34 Abbott did not complete his studies at the seminary leaving the institution in 1987 Interviewed before the 2013 election Abbott said of his time as a trainee priest The Jesuits had helped to instil in me this thought that our calling in life was to be to use the phrase a man for others And I thought then that the best way in which I could be a man for others was to become a priest I discovered pretty soon that I was a bit of a square peg in a round hole eventually working out that I m afraid I just didn t have what it took to be an effective priest 45 Abbott worked in journalism briefly ran a concrete plant and began to get involved in national politics 34 Throughout his time as a student and seminarian he was writing articles for newspapers and magazines first for Honi Soit the University of Sydney student newspaper and later The Catholic Weekly and national publications such as The Bulletin He eventually became a journalist and wrote for The Australian 29 At birth Abbott was a British citizen 46 by birth in the UK and by descent from his British born father He did not hold Australian citizenship from birth as at the time Australian citizenship by descent could only be acquired from the father Abbott became a naturalised Australian citizen on 26 June 1981 apparently so as to become eligible for a Rhodes scholarship On 12 October 1993 he renounced his British citizenship to be eligible to run for parliament under section 44 of the constitution 47 Political careerEarly career Abbott began his public life when he was employed as a journalist for The Bulletin an influential news magazine and later for The Australian newspaper 29 While deciding his future career path Abbott developed friendships with senior figures in the New South Wales Labor Party and was encouraged by Bob Carr as well as Johno Johnson to join the Labor Party and run for office Abbott felt uncomfortable with the role of unions within the party however and wrote in his biography that he felt Labor just wasn t the party for me 48 For a time he worked as a plant manager for Pioneer Concrete before becoming press secretary to Liberal Leader John Hewson from 1990 to 1993 helping to develop the Fightback policy 29 Prime Minister John Howard wrote in his autobiography that Abbott considered working on his staff before accepting the position with The Bulletin and it was on Howard s recommendation that Hewson engaged Abbott According to Howard he and Abbott established a good rapport but Hewson and Abbott fell out shortly before the 1993 election and Abbott ended up in search of work following the re election of the Keating government 49 He was approached to head Australians for Constitutional Monarchy ACM the main group organising support for the maintenance of the Monarchy in Australia amidst the Keating government s campaign for a change to a republic 49 Abbott renounced his British citizenship in 1993 50 Between 1993 and 1994 Abbott was Executive Director of ACM 4 According to biographer Michael Duffy Abbott s involvement with ACM strengthened his relationship with John Howard who in 1994 suggested he seek pre selection for a by election in the seat of Warringah 51 Howard provided a glowing reference and Abbott won pre selection for the safe Liberal seat 52 Despite his conservative leanings Abbott acknowledged he voted for Labor in the 1988 NSW state election as he thought that 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 53 Member of Parliament 1994 2009 nbsp Tony Abbott in 1996 Abbott won Liberal preselection for the federal Division of Warringah by election in March 1994 following the resignation of Michael MacKellar He easily held the safe Liberal seat in the Liberals traditional Northern Beaches heartland suffering a swing of only 1 percentage point in the primary vote 54 He easily won the seat in his own right at the 1996 general election Before 2019 he only dropped below 59 percent of the two party vote once in 2001 that year independent Peter Macdonald the former member for the state seat of Manly held Abbott to only 55 percent Abbott was the parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Employment Education Training and Youth Affairs 1996 1998 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 early 2002 to October 2007 he was also the Leader of the House in the House of Representatives 55 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 leader Pauline Hanson 56 Prime Minister John Howard denied any knowledge of existence of such a fund 57 Abbott was also accused of offering funds to One Nation dissident Terry Sharples to support his court battle against the party However Howard defended the honesty of Abbott in this matter 58 Abbott conceded that the political threat One Nation posed to the Howard government was a very big factor in his decision to pursue the legal attack but he also claimed to be acting in Australia s national interest Howard also defended Abbott s actions saying It s the job of the Liberal Party to politically attack other parties there s nothing wrong with that 59 As a Parliamentary Secretary Abbott oversaw the establishment of the Green Corps program which involved young people in environmental restoration work 60 61 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 62 63 64 65 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 66 67 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 68 Cabinet minister 1998 2007 When Abbott was promoted to the Cabinet in 1998 Prime Minister Howard described him as an effective performer with an endearing style whereas the Opposition described him as a bomb thrower 64 Howard appointed Abbott to replace Kay Patterson as Minister for Health in 2003 during a period of contentious Medicare reform and a crisis in Medical indemnity Insurance in which the price of insurance was forcing doctors out of practice 69 70 The Australian Medical Association was threatening to pull out all Australian doctors 71 Abbott worked with the states to address the crisis and keep the system running 67 Health care initiatives instigated by Abbott include the Nurse Family Partnership a long term scheme aimed at improving conditions for indigenous youth by improving mother child relationships The scheme was successful in reducing child abuse and improving school retention rates 71 In 2005 Abbott was holidaying with his family in Bali when the Bali bombings occurred Abbott visited the victims of the bombings in hospital and in his capacity as Health Minister organised for Australians who required lifesaving emergency surgery and hospitalisation to be flown to Singapore 72 In 2006 Abbott controversially opposed access to the abortion drug RU486 and the Parliament voted to strip Health Ministers of the power to regulate this area of policy 73 During this time Abbott likened the act of having an abortion to committing a murder saying 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 74 Abbott 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 75 76 77 78 According to Sydney Morning Herald s political editor Peter Hartcher before the defeat of the Howard government at the 2007 election 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 67 John Howard wrote in his 2010 autobiography that Abbott was never a zealot about pursuing industrial relations changes and expressed concern about making too many changes during Cabinet s discussion of WorkChoices 79 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 complained that Abbott was unavailable to collect a petition 80 In The Australian Doctor s 2015 poll Tony Abbott was ranked as the third worst health minister in 35 years as voted on by doctors Peter Dutton was ranked the overall worst 81 Shadow minister 2007 2009 The Coalition lost government in 2007 and Abbott was re elected to the seat of Warringah with a 1 8 swing toward the Labor Party 82 Following Peter Costello 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 83 He said he would not rule out contesting the leadership at some time in the future 84 Of the three candidates Abbott was the only one who had previous experience in Opposition Nelson was elected Liberal leader in December 2007 and Abbott was assigned the Shadow Portfolio of Families Community Services and Indigenous Affairs 85 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 86 spent time teaching at remote Aboriginal communities 87 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 88 During this period in Opposition Abbott wrote Battlelines a biography and reflection on the Howard government and potential future policy direction for the Liberal Party 89 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 90 and discussed family law reform multiculturalism 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 91 92 The number of unauthorised immigrant arrivals in boats to Australia increased during 2008 93 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 unauthorised immigrants upon boats arriving particularly during the Oceanic Viking affair of October 2009 saying John Howard found a problem and created a solution Kevin Rudd found a solution and has now created a problem 94 During November 2009 Abbott resigned from shadow ministerial responsibilities due to the Liberal Party s position on the Rudd government s Emissions trading Scheme ETS leading to the resignation of other shadow ministers 95 Leader of the Opposition 2009 2013 nbsp Abbott in 2012 as Leader of the OppositionOn 1 December 2009 Abbott was elected to the position of Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia over Turnbull and Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey Abbott proposed blocking the government s ETS in the Senate whereas Turnbull sought to amend the bill which the majority of the Liberal Party did not support 96 Abbott named his Shadow Cabinet on 8 December 2009 97 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 Coalition 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 98 When appointed to the Liberal leadership Abbott s Catholicism and moral beliefs became subjects of repeated media questioning Various commentators suggested that his traditionalist views would polarise female voters 99 He told press gallery journalist Laurie Oakes that he did not do doorstop interviews in front of church but regularly faced pointed questions about his faith which were not being put to Prime Minister Rudd who conducted weekly church door press conferences following his attendances at Anglican services 100 Abbott reportedly missed the 2009 vote on the Rudd government 42 billion stimulus package because he fell asleep in his parliamentary office after a night of drinking When asked by a journalist whether he had been drunk Abbott said that is an impertinent question and that he wasn t keeping count but thought it was maybe two bottles of wine 101 102 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 it s a fact of life and I try to treat people as people and not put them in pigeonholes 103 In later interviews Abbott apologised for the remark 104 105 In 2013 Abbott stated on 3AW that if his sister Christine Forster were to have a marriage ceremony with her partner Virginia he would attend 106 107 108 109 nbsp Attending the 2010 Anzac Day National Service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra In March 2010 Abbott announced a new policy initiative to provide for six months paid parental leave funded by an increase in corporate tax by 1 7 percentage points on all taxable company income above 5 million Business groups and the government opposed the plan however it won support from the Australian Greens 110 While 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 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 believed that the Queensland law would block the economic development of indigenous land and interfere with Aboriginal land rights 111 Abbott completed an Ironman Triathlon event in March 2010 at Port Macquarie New South Wales In April he set out on a 9 day charity bike ride between Melbourne and Sydney the annual Pollie Pedal generating political debate about whether he should have committed so much time to physical fitness 112 113 Abbott 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 114 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 115 116 117 2010 election Main article 2010 Australian federal election On 24 June 2010 Julia Gillard replaced Kevin Rudd as Australian Labor Party leader and prime minister 118 The replacement of a first term prime minister was unusual in Australian political history and the Rudd Gillard rivalry remained a vexed issue for the Gillard government into the 2010 election and its subsequent term On 17 July Gillard called the 2010 federal election for 21 August 119 Polls in the first week gave a view that Labor would be re elected with an increased majority with Newspoll and an Essential poll showing a lead of 10 points 55 45 two party preferred 120 The two leaders met for one official debate during the campaign Studio audience surveys by Channel 9 and Seven Network suggested a win to Gillard 120 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 around government debt taxation and asylum seekers An exit poll of the Rooty Hill RSL audience accorded Abbott victory 121 Gillard won the audience poll at Broncos Leagues Club meeting in Brisbane on 18 August 122 Abbott appeared for public questioning on the ABC s Q amp A program on 16 August 123 Labor and the Coalition each won 72 seats in the 150 seat House of Representatives 124 four short of the requirement for majority government resulting in the first hung parliament since the 1940 election 125 126 127 Abbott and Gillard commenced a 17 day period of negotiation with 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 128 129 Following the negotiations Gillard formed a minority government with the support of an Australian Greens MP and three independent MPs on the basis of confidence and supply 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 130 The Coalition finished with 49 88 percent of the two party preferred vote 131 obtaining a national swing of around 2 6 132 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 they eventually allowed the analysis Treasury endorsed Labor s budget costings but projected that Coalition policies would add between 860 million and 4 5 billion to the bottom line over the next four years rather than the 11 5 billion projected by the Coalition 133 134 135 The close result was lauded by former Prime Minister John Howard who wrote in 2010 that Abbott had shifted the dynamic of Australian politics after coming to the leadership in 2009 and deserves hero status among Liberals 136 After the 2010 election Following the 2010 election Abbott and his deputy Julie Bishop were re elected unopposed as leaders of the Liberal Party 137 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 138 Abbott announced that he wanted Turnbull to prosecute the Opposition s case against the Gillard government s proposed expenditure on a National Broadband Network 139 Following the 2010 2011 Queensland floods 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 140 Abbott announced a proposal for a taskforce to examine further construction of dams in Australia to deal with flood impact and food security 141 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 142 Although Abbott had previously stated that he considered a carbon tax the best way to set a price on carbon 143 he opposed Prime Minister Gillard s February 2011 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 ruled out the introduction of a carbon tax in the lead up to the 2010 election 144 In April 2011 Abbott proposed consultation with Indigenous people over a bipartisan Federal Government intervention in Northern Territory towns including 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 145 April saw Abbott announce a 430 million policy plan to improve the employment prospects of people with serious mental health problems 146 Following the first Gillard government budget in May 2011 Abbott used his budget reply speech to reiterate his critiques of government policy and call for an early election over the issue of a carbon tax 147 Rhetorically echoing Liberal party founder Robert Menzies Abbott addressed remarks to the forgotten families 148 In June 2011 Abbott for the first time led Gillard in a Newspoll as preferred prime minister 149 In September 2011 he 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 150 The head of the Northern Australia Land and Water Taskforce expressed concerns about the economic and environmental viability of this plan as well as its effects on the indigenous Australian communities in northern Australia 151 Reflecting on indigenous issues on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on Australia Day 2012 Abbott said that there had been many positive developments in indigenous affairs in recent decades including Rudd s apology and moves to include indigenous Australians in the Australian Constitution Later that day Abbott became the target of protesters from the Embassy after one of Gillard s advisers contacted a union official who advised Tent Embassy protesters of Abbott s whereabouts and misrepresented Abbott s views on Aboriginal affairs to them saying he intended to pull down the embassy A major security scare resulted which was broadcast around the world resulting in Gillard and Abbott being rushed to a government car amid a throng of security due to fears for their safety 152 nbsp Lake to Lagoon competitors at the starting line including Tony Abbott Wagga Wagga 2012 In an address to the National Press Club on 31 January 2012 Abbott outlined some of his plans for government if elected These included an intent to live one week of every year in an indigenous Australian community and to prune government expenditure and cut taxes Abbott also announced aspirational targets for a disability insurance scheme and a subsidised dentistry program once the budget had been restored to strong surplus 153 Abbott responded to the February 2012 Labor leadership crisis by criticising the cross bench independents for keeping Labor in power and renewed his calls for a general election to select the next Prime Minister of Australia 154 In criticising the Gillard government on foreign policy Abbott said that foreign policy should have a Jakarta rather than a Geneva focus 155 Following his attendance at the 10th anniversary commemoration of the Bali bombing in Bali Abbott travelled to Jakarta with his Shadow Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Immigration for a meeting with Indonesian President Yudhoyono and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa 156 Abbott promised a no surprises principle for dealings with Indonesia The presidential reception was an unusual occurrence for an opposition leader 157 In November 2012 Abbott launched his fourth book A Strong Australia a compilation of nine of his landmark speeches from 2012 including his budget reply and National Press Club addresses 158 Gillard misogyny speech On 9 October 2012 Prime Minister Julia Gillard accused Tony Abbott of misogyny and hypocrisy in a speech to Parliament that gained international notice 159 160 Prime Minister 2013 2015 Main article Abbott government Early policy implementation nbsp Tony Abbott being sworn in as Prime Minister by Quentin Bryce 18 September 2013 At the federal election on 7 September 2013 Abbott led the Liberal National coalition to victory over the incumbent Labor government led by Kevin Rudd Abbott and his ministry were sworn in on 18 September 2013 161 162 He was the subject of criticism for his decision to only include one woman Deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop in his cabinet 163 164 On the first day of the new Parliament Abbott introduced legislation into Parliament to repeal the Carbon Tax and commenced Operation Sovereign Borders the Coalition s policy to stop the maritime arrival of asylum seekers which received strong public support 165 Abbott announced a Royal Commission into trade union governance and corruption on 11 February 2014 166 This was followed by amendments to the Fair Work Act 167 and a Repeal Day where more than 10 000 red tape regulations were repealed 168 As Prime Minister Abbott oversaw free trade agreements signed with Japan South Korea and China 169 170 171 The Carbon Tax Repeal Bill passed both houses of Parliament on 17 July 2014 and the Mining Tax Repeal Bill passed both houses of Parliament on 2 September 2014 after negotiations with the Palmer United Party 172 173 nbsp Abbott and Andrew Robb signing the Free Trade Agreement with president and Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping November 2014 nbsp Abbott meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry 2014 budget The 2014 Australian federal budget the Abbott government s first budget delivered by Treasurer Joe Hockey was criticised by the Opposition as cruel and unfair and a large number of budget saving measures were blocked by the crossbench in the Senate Hockey and Abbott were both criticised for their inability to sell the necessity of the budget cuts to the cross bench or the public Hockey was further criticised for several out of touch and insensitive comments in subsequent months however the prime minister continuously publicly backed the treasurer refusing to replace him with a better performing minister 174 Knighting of Prince Philip On 25 March 2014 Abbott announced that he had advised the Queen to reinstate the knight and dame system of honours to the Order of Australia Outgoing Governor General Quentin Bryce and her successor Peter Cosgrove became the first recipients of the reinstated honours On Australia Day 2015 Abbott announced that Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh the Queen s husband and a resident of the United Kingdom would be appointed a Knight of the Order of Australia This decision was widely criticised including by members of the government and fuelled speculation that the prime minister s leadership could be challenged 175 On 2 November 2015 new prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced that knights and dames had been removed from the Order of Australia as not appropriate in our modern honours system although existing titles would not be affected 176 177 February 2015 leadership spill Main article February 2015 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill motion On 6 February 2015 Liberal backbencher Luke Simpkins announced that he would move a motion at a meeting of the party room for a spill of the federal Liberal Party s leadership positions Simpkins stated that such a motion would give Liberal members of parliament and senators the opportunity to either endorse the Prime Minister or seek a new direction 178 The meeting was held on 9 February 2015 and the spill motion was defeated by 61 votes to 39 179 Both Malcolm Turnbull and deputy leader Julie Bishop were speculated to be considering a leadership run if the spill motion had succeeded 180 Prime Minister Abbott described the leadership motion as a near death experience and declared that good government starts today promising to consult his colleagues more to shy away from his so called captain s calls and to reduce the role of his chief of staff Peta Credlin 174 Operations against Islamic State source source source source Prime Minister Abbott announcing ADF operations against ISIL 10 March 2014 Following the Ile de France attacks the Kuwait mosque bombing and the mass shooting in Sousse Tunisia Abbott announced that Isis is at war with Australia 181 Australia had already begun anti terrorism measures against the group in 2014 3 However by September the Royal Australian Air Force was readying a wing of F A 18E F Super Hornets along with an E 7A Wedgetail and KC 30 for operations in Eastern Syria making strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant 182 The Australian commitment known as Operation Okra involved 400 personnel came at the formal request of PresidentBarack Obama Australian forces integrated with British Armed Forces United States Armed Forces and other coalition members within Operation Inherent Resolve 182 It is understood that Australia s air operations were complemented by operations of the 4 Squadron of the Australian Special Air Service Regiment 183 Choppergate In July 2015 Bronwyn Bishop who had been successfully nominated by Abbott in November 2013 for the position of Speaker of the House came under intense media scrutiny after details of her use of taxpayer funded political entitlements were made public including chartering a helicopter flight between Melbourne and Geelong to attend a Liberal party fundraiser Abbott was criticised over his handling of the entitlements scandal as he allowed the controversy to drag on for weeks because of his refusal to sack the Speaker a close friend and political mentor Despite Abbott s support Bishop resigned as Speaker on 2 August 2015 184 Same sex marriage debate During Abbott s prime ministership Australian law continued to define marriage as a union of a man and a woman while recognising same sex couples as de facto couples in areas such as taxation law social security law immigration and superannuation and Abbott did not support changing the law 185 During Abbott s time as opposition leader and prime minister the position of the Labor Party and opinion polls shifted towards favouring same sex marriage Abbott determined that a national plebiscite rather than a Parliamentary vote should settle the issue 186 As an Opposition front bencher in 2008 Abbott wrote The love and commitment between two people of the same sex can be as strong as that between husband and wife There is more moral quality in a relationship between two people devoted to each other for decades than in many a short lived marriage Still however deeply affectionate or long lasting it may be the relationship between two people of the same sex cannot be a marriage because a marriage by definition is between a man and a woman Let s celebrate all strong relationships whether they are between a man and a woman or between people of the same sex but let s be careful about describing every lasting sexual bond as a marriage 187 The First Rudd government and Gillard government held similar views although the short lived second Rudd government reversed Labor s position on the issue 188 189 190 Abbott reaffirmed that he did not support changing the law to recognise same sex marriage and did not alter Coalition policy on the issue however he permitted Coalition members to advocate for change if they felt strongly on the issue and indicated that if a bill were to come before the new parliament the Coalition party room would discuss its stance on the issue 191 Opinion polls suggested growing support for change 192 On 11 August 2015 after renewed debate about same sex marriage in Australia Abbott called a Coalition Party room vote and Coalition MPs voted against allowing a free vote on the issue 66 to 33 193 Some MPs said they were willing to cross the floor on the issue and Abbott was criticised by some pro gay marriage Liberal MPs including Christopher Pyne for holding the vote in the Coalition party room rather than the Liberal party room as the inclusion of National Party votes decreased chances of a pro change outcome 194 To settle the issue Abbott proposed a plebiscite following the next election Although he remained personally opposed to change he said Parliament should respect the outcome of the national vote on the issue 195 A national plebiscite regarding same sex marriage would eventually be held in 2017 under the subsequent Turnbull government 196 September 2015 leadership spill Main article Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill September 2015 nbsp Bronze bust of Tony Abbott at the Prime Minister s Avenue in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens On 14 September 2015 Malcolm Turnbull the Minister for Communications resigned and stated his intention to challenge the Liberal Party leadership in a leadership spill A party room meeting held that evening saw Abbott defeated by Turnbull on a 54 44 vote 197 According to The Economist Abbott was ousted due to poor opinion polling lacklustre economic management and involvement in several political gaffes and scandals 198 In comments just after the result was announced Turnbull praised Abbott for his formidable achievements as prime minister 199 By the time he was removed from premiership Abbott was one of the most unpopular world leaders 200 201 and he has been regarded by critics and political experts as one of Australia s worst prime ministers 202 203 204 Later years in parliament 2015 2019 After Malcolm Turnbull successfully challenged Abbott for the Liberal Party leadership in 2015 Abbott returned to the government backbench and pledged to remain in Parliament 205 In a final media conference as Prime Minister Abbott told reporters Leadership changes are never easy for our country My pledge today is to make this change as easy as I can There will be no wrecking no undermining and no sniping I ve never leaked or backgrounded against anyone And I certainly won t start now I am proud of what the Abbott government has achieved We stayed focused despite the white anting The nature of politics has changed in the past decade A febrile media culture has developed that rewards treachery If there s one piece of advice I can give to the media it s this refuse to print self serving claims that the person making them won t put his or her name to Refuse to connive at dishonour by acting as the assassin s knife 206 Turnbull government Malcolm Turnbull gave the former Prime Minister no portfolio in the new government As a backbencher he continued to defend the record of the Abbott government and speak out on a range of issues Following the November 2015 Paris attacks he backed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi call for a revolution in Islam in a speech in Singapore and told Sky News All of those things that Islam has never had a Reformation an Enlightenment a well developed concept of the separation of church and state that needs to happen 207 He defended the Abbott government s 2014 Budget measures and called on future Prime Ministers to follow his commitment to spending a week a year in indigenous communities 207 Abbott declared he would have won the 2016 Election 208 In a December 2015 editorial The Sydney Morning Herald accused Abbott of contradicting his undertaking that there would be no undermining of Malcolm Turnbull 209 On 24 January 2016 Abbott confirmed that he would stand for Liberal preselection for the Division of Warringah in the federal election 210 He was re elected with a small swing against him matching the statewide swing against the Government 211 Following his re election he voiced various concerns about the direction of the Turnbull government 212 213 214 In February 2017 he told a book launch that the Turnbull government was perceived by many conservatives as Labor lite and risked a drift to defeat at the upcoming election if it failed to improve its performance 215 Turnbull s ousting of Abbott had divided the Liberal Party rank and file and tensions continued in the parliamentary Party 216 217 218 Abbott said Turnbull supporters had plotted against him 219 220 In the lead up to the 2017 postal survey on same sex marriage Abbott campaigned for the retention of the status quo 221 During the campaign Abbott was headbutted in Hobart by protester Astro Labe who was sentenced to six months imprisonment 222 223 224 225 226 Following the yes vote in the plebiscite Abbott said he accepted the result and that the matter was settled In October 2015 The Australian reported that a poll of 1631 voters shows 62 per cent of Australians believe the Liberal Party did the right thing in ousting Abbott 209 227 Abbott was returned as the Member for Warringah at the subsequent election but the Coalition s majority in the House of Representatives was reduced from 29 seats to one seat In April 2018 the now elected Turnbull government reached the 30 consecutive Newspoll losses benchmark Turnbull had used to unseat Abbott 228 Turnbull resigned after losing the support of the Party in room during the Liberal leadership spills of 2018 Abbott supported Peter Dutton in the leadership vote Following the election of Scott Morrison as party leader Abbott said the Coalition now had a better chance of re election in the upcoming poll telling the Centre for Independent Studies I am confident given the ministerial appointments that he s made that there will be better policy there will be a united party and there will be a sharper difference with our opponents 229 Morrison government Following Turnbull s resignation Abbott was appointed as Prime Minister Scott Morrison s Special Envoy on Indigenous Affairs with a brief to focus on indigenous school attendance and performance 230 231 Abbott presented his first report to Parliament as Special Envoy in December 2018 232 He recommended increasing substantially the salary supplements and the retention bonuses for teachers in very remote areas waiving HECS debt of longer term teachers in very remote schools incentives for communities to adopt debit card arrangements an extension of the Remote School Attendance Strategy with more local school buy in and engagement extension of the Good to Great Schools program that has reintroduced phonics and disciplined learning for further evaluation and emulation and that the government should match the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation s private and philanthropic funding on an ongoing basis 233 On 18 May 2019 during the federal election Abbott lost his seat of Warringah to independent candidate and former Olympic skier Zali Steggall marking the first time the seat had been lost by the Liberals and their predecessors since its creation in 1922 15 Steggal ran as a pro climate action candidate and her campaign won extensive media coverage and the backing of the left wing GetUp lobby group Abbott went into the election holding Warringah on a two party preferred margin of 61 percent However he lost over 12 percent of his primary vote from 2016 and finished over 4 100 votes behind Steggall on the first preference count and over 13 000 after preferences were distributed losing by 57 2 to 42 8 234 Abbott had won the seat at nine elections and served 25 years as the Member for Warringah Post parliamentary careerAbbott has been on the board of the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation since 2016 In 2019 he was appointed to the board of the Australian War Memorial 235 On 4 September 2020 Abbott was appointed as an adviser to the UK s Board of Trade with the stated aim of providing a range of views to help in its advisory function promoting free and fair trade and advising on UK trade policy to the International Trade Secretary 17 The role involves advising on the negotiation of international trade deals for the UK but it was reported that Abbott would not be involved in advising the government on the country s Brexit process He will be joined on the board by other senior political figures including Patricia Hewitt a former UK Secretary of State for Health Daniel Hannan a former Member of the European Parliament and Linda Yueh a writer and broadcaster News of the appointment prompted UK Opposition politicians to question his suitability for the job because of comments previously made by Abbott about climate change women and same sex marriage Boris Johnson the UK s Prime Minister said that he could not agree with the views of everyone in his government but that Abbott had been elected as Prime Minister by that great liberal democratic nation of Australia which he said speaks for itself 236 Possible Senate appointment After the death of Senator Jim Molan 237 former Victorian Liberal president Michael Kroger in an interview with Sky News Australia suggested the idea of Abbott taking Molan s Senate seat 238 Opposition Leader Peter Dutton told ABC News that there was no question Tony Abbott would be an asset but also stated that there will be many other candidates who are very credible as well 239 Abbott has not confirmed whether he is interested in returning to public life 239 Board appointments In February 2023 Abbott joined the board of UK think tank Global Warming Policy Foundation which is known for its climate change scepticism 240 As of July 2023 he holds the role of a Senior Advisor at New Direction a think tank affiliated with the European Conservatives and Reformists Party in the European Parliament 241 In November 2023 Abbott was appointed to a board seat at Fox Corporation 235 His nomination came the day after Rupert Murdoch announced his retirement 242 Political viewsAbbott is a member of the National Right faction of the Liberal Party 243 The term Abbottism has been coined by several media outlets to refer to his political ideology 244 245 246 247 248 Abbottism has been compared to several other eponymous political ideologies namely Hansonism the views of Pauline Hanson 249 and Trumpism the views of Donald Trump 250 Aboriginal affairs Abbott has an active interest in indigenous affairs 251 As Opposition Leader Abbott promised to prioritise indigenous affairs 251 As Prime Minister Abbott reformed the administration of the portfolio moving it into the Department of Prime Minister 252 As Health Minister Abbott established the Nurse Family Partnership to improve conditions for indigenous youth As Opposition Leader he worked with Cape York Aboriginal activist Noel Pearson volunteered as a teacher in remote Aboriginal Communities and gave a commitment to continue to live one week a year in such communities if elected prime minister 253 254 In contrast to his mentor John Howard Abbott praised Rudd s National Apology to the Stolen Generation 86 87 88 255 While the Coalition and Labor were engaged in negotiations with crossbenchers to obtain minority government in 2010 Noel Pearson lobbied Rob Oakeshott to back Abbott 256 Rising to support the passage of the Gillard government s historic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Bill through the House of Representatives in 2013 Abbott said 257 Australia is a blessed country Our climate our land our people our institutions rightly make us the envy of the earth except for one thing we have never fully made peace with the First Australians This is the stain on our soul that Prime Minister Keating so movingly evoked at Redfern 21 years ago We have to acknowledge that pre 1788 this land was as Aboriginal then as it is Australian now Until we have acknowledged that we will be an incomplete nation and a torn people So our challenge is to do now in these times what should have been done 200 or 100 years ago to acknowledge Aboriginal people in our country s foundation document In short we need to atone for the omissions and for the hardness of heart of our forebears to enable us all to embrace the future as a united people In November 2012 Abbott flew to Alice Springs to back Aboriginal Country Liberal Party CLP MLA Alison Anderson to run in the federal seat of Lingiari and to become the first Indigenous woman to enter Parliament 258 Anderson eventually did not run as the CLP candidate for Lingiari in the 2013 federal election In August 2015 he rejected the request of Aboriginal leaders Patrick Dodson and Noel Pearson for the federal government to fund a series of Indigenous only conventions on the wording for the referendum citing concerns it could be potentially divisive 259 Abbott opposed the Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the 2023 referendum arguing it would divide Australians 260 Abbott served on the advisory board of Advance Australia a conservative lobby group supporting the No campaign against the Voice 261 Constitutional monarchy Abbott supports the Australian monarchy 262 263 Before entering parliament he worked as the Executive Director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy from 1993 to 1994 264 In March 2014 Abbott advised the Queen to reintroduce the grade of Knight Dame to the Order of Australia without discussing it in the Cabinet 265 and despite stating in December 2013 that he did not plan to do so 266 The Fraser government initially introduced the grade of Knight Dame of the Order of Australia in 1976 the Hawke government discontinued it in 1986 Climate change Before becoming opposition leader Abbott initially supported proposals by Liberal leaders Howard and Turnbull to introduce floating prices to reduce carbon emissions but also expressed some doubts as to the science and economics underlying such initiatives In 2009 Abbott announced his opposition to Turnbull s support for the Rudd government s Emissions Trading Scheme proposal and successfully challenged Turnbull for the Liberal leadership chiefly over this issue 267 268 As Opposition Leader Abbott declared that he accepted that climate change was real and that humans were having an impact on it but rejected carbon pricing as a means to address the issue proposing instead to match the Labor government s 5 emissions reduction target through implementation of a plan involving financial incentives for emissions reductions by industry and support for carbon storage in soils and expanded forests 269 On the eve of the 2013 election Abbott told the ABC 270 J ust to make it clear I think that climate change is real humanity makes a contribution It s important to take strong and effective action against it and that is what our direct action policy does The important thing is to take strong and effective action to tackle climate change action that doesn t damage our economy And that is why the incentive based system that we ve got the direct action policies which are quite similar to those that president Obama has put into practice is that s the smart way to deal with this a big tax is a dumb way to deal with it Abbott on ABC TV Insiders prior to 2013 election Before becoming opposition leader in November 2009 Abbott questioned the science of climate change and an ETS In November 2009 Abbott outlined his objections to the Rudd government s carbon pricing plan on the ABC s Lateline program 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 the policy overturning an undertaking by Turnbull to support an amended version of the government s scheme Under Abbott the Coalition joined the Greens and voted against the CPRS in the Senate and the bill was defeated twice providing a double dissolution trigger 271 The Rudd government eventually deferred its CPRS legislation until 2013 271 With Abbott as opposition leader the Liberal party opposed a carbon emissions tax and an Emissions Trading Scheme 272 Abbott predicted in March 2012 that the Gillard government s carbon tax would be the world s biggest 273 A January 2013 OECD report on taxation of energy use measured Australia s effective tax rate on carbon at 1 July 2012 as among the lower rates in the OECD 274 In July 2011 Abbott criticised the proposed powers of the government s carbon tax regulator 275 276 277 In October 2017 Abbott spoke in London at the Global Warming Policy Foundation a climate skeptic lobby group where he described climate change as probably doing good or at least more good than harm 278 279 280 He argued that higher concentrations of carbon dioxide act as plant food and are actually greening the planet and helping to lift agricultural yields 278 279 On 15 December 2019 he claimed that the world was in the grip of a climate cult 281 Social policy Abbott opposed the legislation of same sex marriage in Australia Abbott is an opponent of embryonic stem cell research and euthanasia 282 He supports the right for women to have an abortion 262 283 284 285 As Health Minister he tried but failed to block the introduction of the abortion pill RU 486 286 As Health Minister Abbott advocated for reducing the number of abortions performed each year as a national priority and referred to abortion as the easy way out 287 Abbott opposed allowing the introduction of embryonic stem cell research or therapeutic cloning in a conscience vote 288 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 289 Abbott said that this would be a way of providing additional recognition to what might be thought of as traditional marriage 290 Early on in his Prime Ministership the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly passed the Marriage Equality Same Sex Act 2013 a bill to allow same sex couples to legally marry 291 Abbott announced that the federal government would challenge this decision in the High Court 292 The case was heard on 3 December Nine days later on 12 December the High Court gave judgement that the Same Sex Act would be dismantled as it clashed with the Federal Marriage Act 1961 293 When the Marriage Amendment Definition and Religious Freedoms Act 2017 which posed the question of whether same sex couples should be able to marry was presented to members of parliament Abbott abstained from voting 294 295 Ultimately same sex marriage would be passed into law in December 2017 296 Abbott supported Peter Dutton s call to give special treatment to white South African farmers seeking asylum 297 298 National Broadband Network Abbott was opposed to a majority Fibre to the Home FttH National Broadband Network NBN In 2010 as Leader of the Opposition Abbott stated that he would ferociously hold the Labor government to account over what he believed to be a white elephant on a massive scale and would demolish the NBN 299 300 In 2010 Abbott argued that an LTE network could meet Australia s future broadband needs with a tower on every street corner 301 In 2011 he called for the NBN to be scrapped entirely with funding diverted to assist with recovery efforts following the Queensland floods stating The National Broadband Network is a luxury that Australia cannot now afford The one thing you don t do is redo your bathroom when your roof has just been blown off 302 With Malcolm Turnbull as Shadow Minister for Communications and Broadband the Liberal National Coalition proposed an alternative The Multi Technology Mix MTM which heavily utilised Fibre to the Node FttN technology in the lead up to the 2013 Australian federal election Abbott said that if elected all Australians would have access to a minimum broadband speed of 25Mbit s by the end of their first term of government They promised download speeds between 25 and 100 Mbit s by the end of 2016 and 50 to 100 Mbit s by 2019 with the rollout completed by the end of 2019 303 China and Taiwan Abbott called the AUKUS defense pact between the United States the United Kingdom and Australia which is directed at countering Chinese power in the Indo Pacific region the biggest decision that any Australian government has made in decades as it indicates that we are going to stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States and the United Kingdom in meeting the great strategic challenge of our time which obviously is China 304 Abbott said that Australia would be safer as a result and cited China s increasing naval firepower as a justification for the deal 304 Abbott strongly supports the de jure recognition of Taiwan as an independent nation In 2021 Abbott attended a regional forum hosted in Taipei and met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing wen During a speech he stated that he wants to help Taiwan end its isolation from global affairs and reaffirmed Australia s solidarity with the country amid increasing tensions with China 305 306 In the speech he also referred to China as a bully and Chinese President Xi Jinping as the new red emperor 307 Chinese officials highly criticised Abbott s visit and speech 308 although Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his government defended his visit 309 Personal lifeIn March 2020 an Australian computer security researcher obtained Abbott s passport number and personal phone number after Abbott posted a photo of his aeroplane boarding pass on Instagram The researcher found a security flaw in the online check in portal of the airline carrier Qantas that divulged sensitive information given details printed on the pass 310 311 312 313 Abbott has admitted to having smoked cannabis once 314 In September 2021 during the second COVID 19 lockdown in Sydney Abbott was fined 500 for not wearing a mask in breach of COVID 19 health orders 315 316 317 Marriage and children nbsp Margie and Tony Abbott at a Canberra event welcoming returning troops in 2015When Abbott was 22 his girlfriend at the time became pregnant and claimed he was the biological father The couple did not marry and put the child up for adoption For 27 years Abbott believed that he was the father of the child 318 In 2004 the man sought out Abbott and it was publicly revealed he was an ABC sound recordist who worked in Parliament House Canberra and was involved in making television programs in which Abbott appeared 319 The story was reported around the world but DNA testing later revealed that Abbott was not the man s father 320 Following his departure from the seminary Abbott met and married Margaret Margie Aitken a New Zealander working in Sydney 321 The couple have three daughters Louise Bridget and Frances 29 322 and became grandparents in 2021 323 Religion Abbott is a Roman Catholic 324 325 Before the 2013 Election Abbott spoke of his religious outlook The Jesuits helped to instill in me this thought that our calling in life was to be a man for others I am a pretty traditional Catholic I m not an evangelical a charismatic Christian I m not I try to attend Mass but I don t get there every Sunday any more Faith has certainly helped to shape my life but it doesn t in any way determine my politics Tony Abbott on ABC TV s Kitchen Cabinet September 2013 45 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 According to John Warhurst of 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 326 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 327 Abbott has said that a politician should not rely on religion to justify a political point of view 262 We are all influenced by a value system that we hold but in the end every decision that a politician makes is or at least should in our society be based on the normal sorts of considerations It s got to be publicly justifiable not only justifiable in accordance with a private view a private belief Abbott on ABC TV Four Corners March 2010 Various political positions supported by Abbott have been criticised by church representatives including aspects of Coalition industrial relations asylum seeker and Aboriginal affairs policies 328 329 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 328 Community service nbsp Tony Abbott competing in the Lake to Lagoon in Wagga Wagga Abbott is an active volunteer member for the Davidson NSW Rural Fire Service 330 He is also an active volunteer member of the Queenscliff Surf Life Saving Club 331 Abbott participates in the Pollie Pedal an annual 1 000 km charity bike ride In April 2007 he launched the tenth annual Pollie Pedal to raise money for breast cancer research 332 In 2008 Abbott spent three weeks teaching in a remote Aboriginal settlement in Coen on Cape York organised through Indigenous leader Noel Pearson He taught remedial reading to Aboriginal children and worked with an income management group helping families manage their welfare payments In 2009 he spent 10 days in Aurukun on Cape York working with the truancy team visiting children who had not been attending school Abbott s stated goal for these visits was to familiarise himself with Indigenous issues 333 334 WritingsAbbott has published four books In 2009 he launched Battlelines a personal biography reflections on the Howard government and discussion of potential policy directions for the Liberal Party of Australia 264 Previously he had published two books in defence of the existing constitutional monarchy system The Minimal Monarchy and How to Win the Constitutional War In 2012 he released a compilation of key speeches from that year entitled A Strong Australia 158 Abbott Tony 1995 The Minimal Monarchy and why it still makes sense for Australia Kent Town South Australia Wakefield Press ISBN 1 86254 358 5 Abbott Tony 1997 How to Win the Constitutional War and give both sides what they want Kent Town South Australia Wakefield Press ISBN 1 86254 433 6 Abbott Tony 2009 Battlelines Carlton Victoria Australia Melbourne University Press ISBN 978 0 522 85606 4 Abbott Tony 2012 A Strong Australia Liberal Party of Australia ISBN 978 0 646 59033 2 Honours nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp National nbsp 8 June 2020 Companion of the Order of Australia AC For eminent service to the people and Parliament of Australia particularly as prime minister and through significant contributions to trade border control and to the Indigenous community 335 nbsp 4 November 2018 National Medal Australia for 15 years service as a volunteer Firefighter 336 nbsp 1 January 2001 Centenary Medal for service as Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations 337 State medals nbsp New South Wales 8 March 2015 Rural Fire Service Long Service Medal for ten years of long service 338 Foreign medals nbsp Japan 29 April 2022 Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun 339 See alsoAbbott government 2014 Australian federal budget 2015 Australian federal budgetReferences We re for Sydney The Daily Telegraph Retrieved 22 August 2018 Jones Gemma 30 March 2013 Tony Abbott s daughters Bridget and Frances speak about claims their daggy Dad is a misogynist and more News com au Retrieved 4 September 2020 a b Abbott The Free Dictionary n d Retrieved 14 March 2021 a b c Hon Tony Abbott MP Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia Retrieved 7 November 2021 Abbott quits as new leadership revolt escalates The Age Melbourne 26 November 2009 Archived from the original on 7 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