Internationally award-winning poet and writer

About and costly...

A report by Anne Casey in Sydney, Australia on 12 June 2014 - originally published as Australia Correspondent to Smorgasbord and Sally Cronin's "Sunday Show" on UK radio station, Express FM 93.7 : http://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2014/06/12/anne-casey-about-and-costly-a-report-from-australia-on-the-cost-of-political-incorrectness/

He was famously photographed winking during an on-air radio interview while a seriously ill elderly lady outlined the humiliating deprivation she was suffering. He aired on tv saying “sh.. happens” on hearing news of an Australian soldier’s death in Afghanistan. He has had his shiny, black leather size 10s in his mouth more times than a packed lunch.

His views – ranging from anti-immigration slurs to sexist stereotypes and unease with homosexuality – have aired not just in Australia but to hundreds of millions overseas. Despite the fact that Australia has just recorded the hottest two-year weather on record, (with daily averages consistently 4-6˚ Celsius above normal), he vehemently denies climate change is a hot topic. His side-kick has equated the cost of Australia’s new national medical charge with the price of two beers.

A riot of a time
No, he is not the latest outrageous stand-up comic to hit the stage in Australia (although many see him as a bit of a joke…). No, he is not some has-been celebrity trying to re-find the limelight with his outspoken, off-the-rails interviews… He is Mr Tony Abbott, Prime Minister of Australia. And he is costing this country dearly.

Unfortunately, the toll from Mr Abbott’s reign is not just quantified in the hardships inflicted by his hard-line economic policies. His first Australian Budget since taking office (see: http://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2014/05/16/in-other-news-from-down-under-an-extra-report-by-anne-casey-in-sydney-australia-on-16-may-2014/) has hit out at the most disadvantaged in our society. Within days, people were taking to the street to demonstrate against the proposed measures.

Mr Abbott’s response was to take flight – literally! Having exhausted the opportunities for public embarrassment on Terra Australis, he launched himself on an official overseas tour. Australians now have the ignominy of observing our head of State broadcast his never-completely-logical, ultra-right-wing views to bemused audiences right across the globe!

Hotting up globally?
Right on time for his first official visit to the United States, our PM was publicly “roasted” on US tv show Last Week Tonight. The video clip, which includes many of his most famous gaffes, has gone viral on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3IaKVmkXuk. Embarrassed though I am to say it, it is worth viewing, just for the laughs.

As Mr Abbott prepares for his first official meeting with President Barack Obama tomorrow, our PM has decided to make public overtures which are starkly at odds with the US leader’s.

While President Obama has repeatedly stated that climate change is probably the single biggest long-term issue facing our planet, Mr Abbott went on record today as saying it is not the world’s biggest problem. This is probably not surprising from the man who, on his first day as Prime Minister, introduced legislation to repeal the country’s carbon tax.

It will be interesting to see how the two leaders reconcile their views tomorrow – particularly given Mr Abbott’s ‘slash and burn’ tactics in dismantling Australian Government support for environmental sustainability since taking office.

Keeping the home-fires burning…
Tempers back home flared overnight as Mr Abbott continued his campaign to put Australia on the map by affronting world leaders. While United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon has called climate change “the defining issue of our time”, Mr Abbott has decided it’s just not important enough to clear a space in his diary.

Meeting with the UN leader yesterday, Mr Abbott said he is unlikely to attend the UN Summit on Climate Change in New York later this year.

Let’s face it… with his approval rating plummeting to 30%, placing him amongst the ranks of Australia’s least popular PMs, Mr Abbott has a lot of ground to make up before the next election in 2016… if he makes it that far.