Category Archives: Tony Abbott

AOC and Swimming Australia threaten legal action over billboards claiming ‘women’s sport is not for men’

Posted on by

Conservative lobby group uses images of elite swimmers in ads targeting ‘woke politicians’ but Emily Seebohm says Advance acted ‘without my consent’

The Australian Olympic Committee and Swimming Australia are threatening a conservative lobby group with legal action for featuring images of elite female swimmers on billboards it is using to campaign against trans women’s participation in sport.

The AOC will send a legal letter to the conservative group Advance on Tuesday alleging the billboards are using its intellectual property without permission, a spokesperson said on Monday night.

Continue reading...

What’s the price of a loaf of bread? A whole lot of political trouble

Posted on by

Scott Morrison this week admitted he didn’t know how much staples cost. Given similar questions have undone other politicians perhaps he was wise not to take a stab

Australians have been talking about foodstuffs this week after the prime minister was unable to nominate the price of a loaf of bread when quizzed during his National Press Club appearance.

A Sky News journalist on Tuesday asked Scott Morrison if he had “lost touch with ordinary Australians”. Could the PM, for instance, name the price of “a loaf of bread, a litre of petrol and a rapid antigen test?” Morrison stated that he “wasn’t going to pretend to you that I go out each day and I buy a loaf of bread and I buy a litre of milk”.

Continue reading...

Australia wants deeper energy ties to help Taiwan decarbonise, amid China tensions

Posted on by

Trade minister Dan Tehan sees ‘real opportunities’ to help Taiwan, as he hopes relationship with China has not become permanently adversarial

The Australian government says it wants to help Taiwan decarbonise its economy, flagging this as the next area of cooperation with the democratically ruled island, amid ongoing tensions with China.

The trade minister, Dan Tehan, said he saw “real opportunities” to deepen energy ties with Taiwan, while arguing there was bipartisan recognition in Australia of “the greater assertiveness that we’re seeing from China”.

Continue reading...

China lambasts Tony Abbott for ‘despicable and insane performance in Taiwan’

Posted on by

Embassy in Canberra describes former Australian PM as ‘a failed and pitiful politician’ after he raised concerns that Beijing ‘could lash out disastrously’

China’s embassy in Canberra has denounced the former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott for what it called a “despicable and insane performance in Taiwan”.

On a visit to Taipei to address a regional forum last week, Abbott raised concerns that Beijing “could lash out disastrously very soon” amid growing tensions over the future of Taiwan – and argued the US and Australia could not stand idly by.

Continue reading...

Tony Abbott raises fears China ‘could lash out disastrously’ as Taiwan tensions grow

Posted on by

The former Australian prime minister uses a speech in Taipei to call on Beijing to ‘scale back the aggression’

The former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott has raised fears Beijing “could lash out disastrously very soon” amid growing tensions over the future of Taiwan – and argued the US and Australia could not stand idly by.

Delivering two high profile addresses to a regional forum in Taipei on Friday, Abbott dismissed claims that Australian officials were beating the “drums of war”, while calling on Beijing to “scale back the aggression”.

Continue reading...

Tony Abbott says China tensions should not prevent Taiwan joining trade pact

Posted on by

The former PM calls on the Australian government to urge the US to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership and backs the UK to join

The former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott says the government should not allow a fear of inflaming tensions with China get in the way of accepting Taiwan’s bid to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.

Abbott also called on the Australian government to urge the US to “reconsider their aloofness from the TPP, which was originally their own idea”.

Continue reading...

Scott Morrison recites from God Save the Queen after death of Prince Philip

Posted on by

Australian prime minister says he hopes Queen Elizabeth will ‘find great comfort in your faith and your family’

The Australian prime minister and governor general have paid tribute to Prince Philip, who has died aged 99, saying he was “no stranger to Australia” having visited the country more than 20 times.

Scott Morrison said Australians sent their love and deepest condolences to Queen Elizabeth and the royal family. He stated Philip “embodied a generation that we will never see again”.

Continue reading...

Tony Abbott’s UK trade role sparks conflict of interest concerns

Posted on by

Calls for Australian government to regard him as a foreign agent and explain how he can possibly work on a post-Brexit trade deal

The controversial appointment of Australian former prime minister Tony Abbott as an official trade adviser for the UK has sparked questions as to how he will manage conflicts of interest.

The UK government officially confirmed Abbott’s appointment on Friday, defying a barrage of criticism over accusations of misogynistic and homophobic comments, and his views on the climate emergency.

Continue reading...

Former Australian PM Tony Abbott confirmed as UK trade adviser

Posted on by

Critics say Abbott’s views on women and homosexuality and the climate crisis make him unfit for role

Boris Johnson has appointed Tony Abbott as an official UK trade adviser, defying widespread condemnation of the former Australian prime minister’s record of misogyny and homophobia and his views on the climate emergency.

Abbott, whose consideration for the role prompted criticism from opposition parties, charities and LGBT and environmental activists, is among nine external advisers appointed to the Board of Trade. The board, revived by Theresa May, is intended to help shape post-Brexit trade policy.

Continue reading...

Tony Abbott: some elderly Covid patients could be left to die naturally

Posted on by

‘Health dictatorships’ failing to consider economic costs of crisis, ex-Australian PM says

Tony Abbott, the former Australian prime minister tipped to become a UK trade envoy, has railed against Covid “health dictatorships”, saying the economic cost of lockdowns meant families should be allowed to consider letting elderly relatives with the coronavirus die by letting nature take its course.

He claimed it was costing the Australian government as much as $200,000 (£110,000) to give an elderly person an extra year’s life, substantially beyond what governments would usually pay for life-saving drugs.

Continue reading...

Choosing Tony Abbott as UK trade envoy ‘staggering’, says Labour

Posted on by

Emily Thornberry labels ex-Australian PM a ‘Trump-worshipping misogynist’ amid reports of role

The shadow trade secretary, Emily Thornberry, has condemned reports that Boris Johnson is preparing to appoint the former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott to a senior trade role, calling Abbott a “Trump-worshipping misogynist”.

The Department of Trade declined to comment publicly on Wednesday but insisted no decision had yet been made, after the Sun reported that Abbott would be given a leading role on the board of trade.

Continue reading...

Tony Abbott’s anti-Muslim rhetoric while PM ‘profoundly dangerous’, Malcolm Turnbull says

Posted on by

Turnbull says it was a threat to national security and Abbott’s style of government was ‘erratic and flaky’

Malcolm Turnbull has accused Tony Abbott of the “profoundly dangerous” decision to inflame animosity against Muslims while terrorism was the greatest security threat to Australia during his prime ministership.

In a wide-ranging interview on ABC TV’s 7.30, the former Liberal prime minister took aim at his predecessor for running an “erratic” and “flaky” government and his conservative ally turned challenger, Peter Dutton, for destroying his leadership in pursuit of the “absurd proposition” he could lead the Coalition to victory.

Continue reading...

Barnaby Joyce and Tony Abbott decry ‘infanticide on demand’ at abortion rally

Posted on by

Former PM and deputy PM deploy incendiary language to describe decriminalisation bill being considered by NSW parliament

The former prime minister and deputy prime minister of Australia have claimed at an anti-abortion rally in Sydney that a proposed decriminalisation bill has nothing to do with decriminalisation.

Tony Abbott described the bill as “infanticide on demand”, while Barnaby Joyce described it as “the slavery debate of our time” while also perpetuating a false claim about pro-choice protesters on Saturday.

Continue reading...

Viktor Orbán trumpets Hungary’s ‘procreation, not immigration’ policy

Posted on by

Hungarian PM invokes far-right ‘great replacement’ theory at Budapest demography summit

Procreate or face extinction: that’s the message from central European leaders to their shrinking populations, as across the region rightwing governments implement so-called “family first” policies to incentivise childbearing.

Hungary’s government is holding an international summit on demography in Budapest this week, being attended by several regional leaders and delegations from dozens of countries in an attempt to trumpet their investment in family policies.

Continue reading...

Australia’s ruling Coalition claims election victory in major upset

Posted on by

Scott Morrison’s government set to hang on to power despite polls predicting his demise

It was billed as the climate change election, and the climate lost.

Despite enduring its hottest year on record and a series of environmental calamities that have brought the climate emergency into sharp relief, Australia has voted for the centre-right Liberal party and its coalition partner, and against taking forceful action on the climate crisis.

Continue reading...

Federal election 2019: Bill Shorten says Labor ‘the only game in town’ on wages – politics live

Posted on by

Labor leader wants to bring together business groups and unions for meeting, as Bob Hawke calls Shorten a ‘consensus leader’. All the day’s events, live

Today the high court has released its full reasons for its decision in the case brought by former Liberal National Queensland president Gary Spence to challenge Queensland’s developer donation ban. Orders were delivered in April upholding Queensland’s ban, closing a loophole that would have allowed developers to donate to candidates in the federal election campaign.

The first thing to note is that Spence did not come close to winning on the point of whether the ban impermissibly burdens the implied freedom of political communication.

Scott Morrison ‘aspiration’ count:

14 May – 21 times

Continue reading...

Warringah voters complain about free copies of Daily Telegraph as election rancour boils

Posted on by

Supporters of both Tony Abbott and Zali Steggall accuse the other side of underhand tactics

Residents in the federal seat of Warringah are complaining about telephone push polling, unwanted copies of the Daily Telegraph arriving on their lawns and election posters being defaced.

The most mysterious event in the Sydney seat, where the former prime minister Tony Abbott is fighting a challenge from the independent Zali Steggall, is the arrival of unsolicited copies of the Telegraph, which began in late March.

Continue reading...

Federal election 2019: Coalition surplus forecasts ‘heroic’, thinktank says – politics live

Posted on by

Analysis from Grattan Institute says government ‘probably’ on right trajectory for next year but deficit likely later. All the day’s events, live

Does Scott Morrison think he is popular in Victoria, given he has spent two days campaigning there?

There will be two choices after May 18 - there’s myself and Bill Shorten. Both of our parties have changed our rules. Not before time, but we both have. And those rules mean that whoever you elect as prime minister on May 18 - they will be your prime minister for the next three years. So if you vote for Bill Shorten, you’ll get Bill Shorten.

And if you vote for me, and the Liberal and National parties, you will get me to serve you as your prime minister for the next three years, and to pursue the stronger economy that guarantees rely on for essential services.”

On whether Sam Dastyari has any connection to Labor’s pathology announcement:

Well, this would seem to be the suggestion today - that Sam Dastyari was on Bill Shorten’s campaign bus at the last election and the suggestion now is he’s on Bill Shorten’s gravy train when it comes to this latest announcement. Let’s just see what happens there, I suppose. I mean, I have no knowledge of that. But it’s something for Bill Shorten to explain - from the campaign bus to the gravy train - that’s quite a passage for Sam Dastyari. But, you know, if anyone was gonna be able to do it, I suspect it was him.”

Continue reading...

Matthew Canavan emulates Tony Abbott with raw onion munch

Posted on by

National party politicians struggle to get attention during election campaigns, but Canavan reckons eating an onion with the skin on might take off

It’s enough to bring tears to voters’ eyes.

Four years after Tony Abbott munched on a raw onion, resources minister Matthew Canavan has followed suit.

Continue reading...

Toyota distances itself from Liberal ads falsely claiming Labor wants to tax cars

Posted on by

The ads use Facebook functionality to target users with an interest in particular car brands, including Toyota Hilux utes

Toyota has said that it was not consulted on a Liberal party campaign that uses targeted Facebook ads to falsely claim Bill Shorten wants to tax popular car brands including the Toyota Hilux and other utility vehicles.

“Toyota Australia were not consulted on the use of the HiLux in government materials.”

Continue reading...