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Tony Abbott’s claim he wasn’t aware of the foul posters behind him at yesterday’s outrageous protest in Canberra just doesn’t ring true. IA senior correspondent Barry Everingham comments.
A picture of Tony Abbott, Bronwyn Bishop and Sophie Mirabella on the front pages of many newspapers today is a stark reminder of what the once great Liberal Party has become.
Senior Liberal trio stand in front of offensive banners yesterday (photo courtesy AAP)
This trio of senior MP’s were actually hob knobbing with the disgusting likes of the virulent anti- Semitic The League of Rights. [Memo: Jews who live in the electorates of the trio take note.]
Then there were representatives of the Howard hating (in fact loathing) gun lobby and even the racist One Nation Party rabble. The list goes on and included the local Nazis.
What surprises me is that Bronwyn Bishop – someone I’ve known and admired for over thirty years – would demean herself to be in such company. Abbott and Mirabella are both beyond the pale so anything they get up to for a grab of the headlines isn’t unique.
Yesterday we saw the ugly face of Australia — an Australia whose reputation as freedom loving, uncomplicated country has been trashed by the rabble who demeaned us all in front of our Parliament.
Joe Hockey and Malcolm Turnbull – conspicuously absent from the rally
Not content with demonstrating outside the building, this trashy group took advantage of the democratic process by literally invading the House’s public galleries, where they behaved like the yobbos they are. I assume Speaker Harry Jenkins would have liked to use the considerable powers he enjoys and have them turfed out — but that would have played into their and Abbott’s grubby hands.
Very conspicuous by their absence was the Opposition Leadership team in waiting—Joe Hockey and Malcolm Turnbull.
The quicker the Liberals act and send the current team to the trash heap of political history where they belong and install Joe and Malcolm the quicker dignity will be restored—not only to the Party but to Australia.
It’s a sure bet that Liberals like Dick Hamer, Malcolm Fraser, Robert Menzies and many others of that ilk would have had absolutely nothing to do with a gathering such as yesterday’s.
18 Comments
RT @independentaus: Tony Abbott obviously knew about the posters and chose to stand right in front of them. #AusPol http://fb.me/U9oVv7WV
They could have just left it at `witch`
instead of `bitch` Barry and then the
political correct brigade would have
nothing to get on their moral high
horse about. I think politicians
have every right to be involved
in a public demonstration, and
especially when opposing some-
thing as stupid as the carbon
tax, but the placard with the
insensitive remarks about the
prime minister and Bob Brown
detracted totally from the
well meaning intentions of
everybody who was present
at the rally.
There wasn’t just one placard Tim, they were all over the place.
What did you want Tony to do? Go around to every person with an offensive sign and tell them to get rid of it? They would have just told him where to go.
Its obvious what Barry is doing, his trying to make republicans out to be saints. Lets not forget that Turnbull is a liar and cheat, he tried to bring down Rudd over a fake email. I would never, ever vote for him. Abbot actually united the Liberals and gave them a chance, something Turnbull was never able to do!
Though this wont get published as DD hates ppl not sharing his view.
^ WOW!!!
This has nothing to do with the reoublican movement Mark.. If you wnat George Pell running the health and eudcation departments federally, vote for Tony. Captain Catholic wont be able to move unless Pell says so.
I just find it funny the way you always paint turnbull in such a good light. Fact is turnbull was a shocker at being the liberal leader.
You find every oppertunity to try and run Abbot through the dirt, this is plain stupid, of course he was going to attend a rally with 3000 odd people, who are expressing legitament concerns, he cant be held responsible for something they write on a sign.
Just so you know I suppourt this carbon tax, and Im voting labor in the NSW election this week.
Mark: Abbott doesn’t need any assistance to get down into the dirt and be rubbed in it..his actions do that. How can he seriously be taken as a leader when he surrounds himself with people like that dreadful Mirabella woman – the foul mouthed shrew – or Andrews, Bernardi, Abetz,Morrison etc. Abbott is a thug, nothing more, nothing less and an absolute disgrace and I reapet, in having him as a leader show how far down the politcal sewer have the Liberals have descended.
Please he has exactly the same people around him as Turnbull would. Turnbull was the biggest mistake the Liberals ever made. I can never trust him after what he tried to pull over KR.
Sorry David, i interpreted what Barry said
in his article that the placard, or as you
have indicated `placards` were at no time
in front or to the side of the three rebel
Libs where it couldn`t be denied that they
would have had to see them and the derogative
slang written on them. I assumed, judging by
the angle of the photo used in this article,
that it must have been the one and only one
which caused the controversy. There are two
ways to skin a cat, i think Abbott and the
other two have every right and good reason
to oppose the carbon tax, but there isn`t
any need for such grotty placards, i have
to say that.
Received today an unsolicited card advising that a vote for an Independent is a vote for Labor. I wish the author had had my welfare at heart during the last Fed election – he could have warned me that a vote for the coalition would have been a vote for some ill mannered buffoons like Abbott, Pyner, Morrison,Bishop, Mirabell et al. Where is our Lola Montez to sort Abbott’s manners out. Julia unlike our on again off again climate sceptic, Master Abbott, is not allowed a change of heart. Abbotts aversions did not surface to promise changes during the reign of his hero,John of the “no GST”,”no core promise” Howard. PortMacq-voter
“If you wnat [sic] George Pell running the health and education departments federally, vote for Tony”
An excellent idea, although George would support decentralisation. I find it curious when the Catholic priniciples such as subsidarity are applied in practice (i.e. active engagements by parents in their children’s education, strong nuclear families and decentralised and locally accountable and administered schools), it leads to the world’s best education systems: Finland, Hong Kong, South Korea, Switzerland and Singapore (curiously, all Republics) usually rank at the top of maths, science and language classes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8601207.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4073753.stm
http://www.about.ch/education/index.html
People like Mirabella and Bernardi would never usually make a proper Liberal Party front bench – not in a million years – and they certainly wouldn’t under Turnbull.
An excellent observation of the day’s events. I concur wholeheartedly with your comments.
As for Mirabella being in the picture she is only there for one reason and one reason only, herself.
I await the arrival of Malcolm.
Plenty more examples here of Barry’s ‘manners’ that he sanctimoniously sneers that others (like me) don’t have.
“The list goes on and included the local Nazis”
“Captain Catholic”
“Abbott is a thug”
“the foul mouthed shrew”
And isn’t it wonderful for Labor voters to suggest who should lead the Liberals. Hey, here’s a suggestion to replace the liar, Gillard (before we have an election to send her to oblivion). Mar’n Fergusson sounds reasonable.
Colin, I would concur to some degree that the author of this article is a wee bit partisan, (as happens in an apparent matter of course in this country, unfortunately), but it wasn’t Gillard and co in the spotlight today, it was Abbott, the company he was keeping, and the fact that he couldn’t possibly have been blind to what was going on around him, or the personal quality of the crowd he’d drawn to him, or the way they behaved at this rally.
I’m a Labor voter, I’ll be upfront about that, but it’s only for lack of a better option in my view. If the Liberals were willing to get rid of all the Howard era radicalism, (bigotry, pointless economic policies, pointless oppose oppose oppose rhetoric) and actually contribute something positive to the process of government, I could see myself voting for them (or a yet to be created Centrist party, perhaps) but such an option doesn’t yet exist.
Last thought. Simply saying that the other crowd to which you are bitterly and unreasonably opposed “do the exact same thing” doesn’t excuse the behaviour of your side, which you should be taking the greatest of care, to ensure that your side’s behaviour, ethics, manner, what have you, are without peer.
And yes, some of Barry’s comments went a bit far, but I agree with the general notion that Abbot needs to clean up his act.
Daniel, perhaps you haven’t seen the press reports of the ‘extremists’ and other nasty types present at the rally that Abbott had “drawn to him, or the way they behaved at this rally.”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/25/3173608.htm
In no way can Abbott be ashamed he ‘drew’ this sort of crowd.
Compare, if you will, to the crowd his accuser Combet ‘drew’ to the same spot or similar politician-fronted protests from the Labor side.
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/the_demonisation_of_the_anti_gillard_protesters/
Daniel, this is the link I was trying to find.
http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/45518.html
Tony Abbott’s claim that he is John Howard’s and Bronwyn Bishops’s political love child is interesting – and it confirms he’s a political freak and really should be in a test tube in a political museum.