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.
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.
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.
