- Location
- NSW, Newstralya
Oh Boris, we are judged by the company we keep so you should read this. They neglected to include the bit about him supporting a convicted pedophile and his sashay into Honours where he demoted a Prince to a Knight. Nor is it explicit that he not only lost his PMship at the hands of his party but also a blue-ribbon electorate to an independent. Itās a fine record of high moral fibre, sound judgement and ethical standards that youāve procured!
There is, however, the issue of his citizenship. If heās not a Brit the problem is yours to explain to your people how you couldnāt find a suitable candidate for the role in the UK. If he is a Brit, the problem is ours coz it shows he never relinquished his dual citizenship.
If the story is true, on the one hand I think the Brits will find themselves short changed. But on the other, thatās their problem - just like a dodgy priest, heās been moved on from our parish. And we all know thatās a strategy that works.
m.huffingtonpost.co.uk
NEWS
26/08/2020 11:36 BST | Updated 15 hours ago
Not Sure Who Famed Raw Onion-Chomper Tony Abbott Is? No Problem, We've Got You Covered
The former Australian PM has reportedly been recruited by Boris Johnson to help with Brexit trade deals.
DON ARNOLD VIA GETTY IMAGES
If reports that ex-Australian PM Tony Abbott has been recruited by Boris Johnson to assist with Brexit trade deals doesnāt make you choke on your coffee, then youāre clearly not acquainted with ex-Australian PM Tony Abbott.
According to The Sun, the man who was so bad at his job he was ousted by his own party, has been appointed joint president of Britainās relaunched Board of Trade.
Now it should be noted that UK officials have played down the reports but even the mention of his name among Wednesdayās headlines warrants a nostalgic examination of the manās erm... highlights.
The onion
Letās begin with something that even five years and one president Trump later, still ranks of one of the most bizarre moments in global political history.
In 2015 while visiting a farm in Tazmania, Abbott ate a raw onion ā skin and all ā in front of the presumably aghast press.
Just watch...
Why did he do this? Even all this time later itās still not exactly clear. In a 2019 interview he claimed it was to show āappreciationā to a hard working farmer. But he could have just shaken his hand like a normal person...
The wink
Onions aside, Abbott is actually best-known for a series of truly awful public gaffes, an alarming number of which feature a heavy dose of misogyny and/or xenophobia.
One of the creepiest occurred during a radio call in 2014 from a distressed pensioner who said she had to resort to phone sex work to make ends meet.
As the chronically-ill grandmother and pensioner Gloria introduced herself, saying: āI work on an adult sex line to make ends meetā, Abbott was caught on camera winking and smiling in the direction of ABC Radio host Jon Faine (off camera).
The ironing
Never one to steer away from a sexist cliche, in 2010 while still opposition leader he visited a dry cleaners and attempted to warn of higher electricity prices under the governmentās emissions trading scheme.
How did he do this? Well, by saying: āWhat the housewives of Australia need to understand, as they do the ironing, is that if they get it done commercially itās going to go up in price ā and their own power bills when they switch the iron on are going to go up.ā
The backlash
Obviously none of the above went unnoticed and as well as the aforementioned political ousting, Abbott took an absolute pounding on a number of occasions, most notably when Julia Gillard absolutely destroyed him in what has been voted āthe most unforgettable moment of Australian TV historyā.
Ironically, the then-PM GIllardās speech was prompted by accusations of sexism ā from Abbott.
She was having absolutely none of it, saying: āIf he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia, he doesnāt need a motion in the House of Representatives, he needs a mirror.
āThatās what he needs.ā
It is absolutely worth watching in full...
The borders
Away from sexism and misogyny, Abbott also has a reputation for xenophobia which was encapsulated in a speech he gave in the UK 2015 shortly after he lost his job.
During an event at Londonās Guildhall, Abbott said Europe needed to āstand up for ourselvesā and close its borders to migrants āfor the universal decencies of mankind, lest the world rapidly become a much worse placeā.
Given Abbottās policy in Australia was to simply turn away boats carrying migrants and refugees before they reached the countryās shores, the advice was said to have made Tory ministers present wince.
The speech has been widely dismissed by Australianās and Britons alike. However, he did find support from Nigel Farage, who called it āheroicā, and from English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson.
Gay marriage
Abbott has long vehemently opposed gay marriage yet it was one of his own political gambles that backfired on him and made it legal in Australia.
A former Roman Catholic seminarian, he angered gay rights advocates and many in his conservative government by deciding in 2015 to put the gay marriage issue to an extraordinary national vote.
His explanation was to spare his government colleagues an ugly and divisive debate to resolve the issue.
Critics suspected he was betting that Australiaās recent history of resisting change in referendums would maintain the ban on same-sex marriage.
But 62% of voting Australians who took part in a postal survey last year opted for change. Parliament overwhelmingly supported legislation lifting the ban that December.
So it was highly ironic when in 2018 when he attended the same-sex wedding of his sister.
And finally...
Because weād hate you to finish reading this piece without learning some non-gaffe based and actual details about Tony Abbott, hereās a short summary of his CV.
Tony Abbott
There is, however, the issue of his citizenship. If heās not a Brit the problem is yours to explain to your people how you couldnāt find a suitable candidate for the role in the UK. If he is a Brit, the problem is ours coz it shows he never relinquished his dual citizenship.
If the story is true, on the one hand I think the Brits will find themselves short changed. But on the other, thatās their problem - just like a dodgy priest, heās been moved on from our parish. And we all know thatās a strategy that works.
Not Sure Who Famed Raw Onion-Chomper Tony Abbott Is? No Problem, We've Got You Covered
The former Australian PM has reportedly been recruited by Boris Johnson to help with Brexit trade deals.
NEWS
26/08/2020 11:36 BST | Updated 15 hours ago
Not Sure Who Famed Raw Onion-Chomper Tony Abbott Is? No Problem, We've Got You Covered
The former Australian PM has reportedly been recruited by Boris Johnson to help with Brexit trade deals.
DON ARNOLD VIA GETTY IMAGES
If reports that ex-Australian PM Tony Abbott has been recruited by Boris Johnson to assist with Brexit trade deals doesnāt make you choke on your coffee, then youāre clearly not acquainted with ex-Australian PM Tony Abbott.
According to The Sun, the man who was so bad at his job he was ousted by his own party, has been appointed joint president of Britainās relaunched Board of Trade.
Now it should be noted that UK officials have played down the reports but even the mention of his name among Wednesdayās headlines warrants a nostalgic examination of the manās erm... highlights.
The onion
Letās begin with something that even five years and one president Trump later, still ranks of one of the most bizarre moments in global political history.
In 2015 while visiting a farm in Tazmania, Abbott ate a raw onion ā skin and all ā in front of the presumably aghast press.
Just watch...
Why did he do this? Even all this time later itās still not exactly clear. In a 2019 interview he claimed it was to show āappreciationā to a hard working farmer. But he could have just shaken his hand like a normal person...
The wink
Onions aside, Abbott is actually best-known for a series of truly awful public gaffes, an alarming number of which feature a heavy dose of misogyny and/or xenophobia.
One of the creepiest occurred during a radio call in 2014 from a distressed pensioner who said she had to resort to phone sex work to make ends meet.
As the chronically-ill grandmother and pensioner Gloria introduced herself, saying: āI work on an adult sex line to make ends meetā, Abbott was caught on camera winking and smiling in the direction of ABC Radio host Jon Faine (off camera).
The ironing
Never one to steer away from a sexist cliche, in 2010 while still opposition leader he visited a dry cleaners and attempted to warn of higher electricity prices under the governmentās emissions trading scheme.
How did he do this? Well, by saying: āWhat the housewives of Australia need to understand, as they do the ironing, is that if they get it done commercially itās going to go up in price ā and their own power bills when they switch the iron on are going to go up.ā
The backlash
Obviously none of the above went unnoticed and as well as the aforementioned political ousting, Abbott took an absolute pounding on a number of occasions, most notably when Julia Gillard absolutely destroyed him in what has been voted āthe most unforgettable moment of Australian TV historyā.
Ironically, the then-PM GIllardās speech was prompted by accusations of sexism ā from Abbott.
She was having absolutely none of it, saying: āIf he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia, he doesnāt need a motion in the House of Representatives, he needs a mirror.
āThatās what he needs.ā
It is absolutely worth watching in full...
The borders
Away from sexism and misogyny, Abbott also has a reputation for xenophobia which was encapsulated in a speech he gave in the UK 2015 shortly after he lost his job.
During an event at Londonās Guildhall, Abbott said Europe needed to āstand up for ourselvesā and close its borders to migrants āfor the universal decencies of mankind, lest the world rapidly become a much worse placeā.
Given Abbottās policy in Australia was to simply turn away boats carrying migrants and refugees before they reached the countryās shores, the advice was said to have made Tory ministers present wince.
The speech has been widely dismissed by Australianās and Britons alike. However, he did find support from Nigel Farage, who called it āheroicā, and from English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson.
Gay marriage
Abbott has long vehemently opposed gay marriage yet it was one of his own political gambles that backfired on him and made it legal in Australia.
A former Roman Catholic seminarian, he angered gay rights advocates and many in his conservative government by deciding in 2015 to put the gay marriage issue to an extraordinary national vote.
His explanation was to spare his government colleagues an ugly and divisive debate to resolve the issue.
Critics suspected he was betting that Australiaās recent history of resisting change in referendums would maintain the ban on same-sex marriage.
But 62% of voting Australians who took part in a postal survey last year opted for change. Parliament overwhelmingly supported legislation lifting the ban that December.
So it was highly ironic when in 2018 when he attended the same-sex wedding of his sister.
And finally...
Because weād hate you to finish reading this piece without learning some non-gaffe based and actual details about Tony Abbott, hereās a short summary of his CV.
Tony Abbott
- Born: November 1957
- Became Australian PM: September 2013
- Ate the onion: March 2015
- Ousted as PM: September 2015
Last edited:
