OPINION by Kristina Keneally

Perhaps no Australian Prime Minister faced a more anticipated and important speech at the National Press Club than Tony Abbott on Monday.

Electoral annihilation in Queensland, a 27 per cent approval rating, and open speculation of a leadership change all meant that the Prime Minister’s speech needed to convince backbenchers that he deserves to stay in the job past Monday night.

Don’t take my word for it — Liberal MP Jane Prentice said as much on Saturday.

So why did Abbott’s speech sound like someone in his office took a dozen common sound bites and threw them up on the wall in random order?

“These are testing times for our country,” Tony intoned. Well, Prime Minister, the country may not be perfect, but really, these are testing times for you. Also, I’m not sure what you might nominate as a less testing time for Australia. Perhaps you look back fondly at a simpler period, when all we needed to worry about was the global financial crisis and the utter collapse of the Australian economy. Oh, wait, that’s right — the Australian economy didn’t collapse, thanks to the Labor Government’s swift response. Whew.

“I’m not here to defend the past — I’m here to explain the future.” The Prime Minister said this — with a straight face — after 15 minutes of defending John Howard, attacking Labor and gamely explaining his actions since coming to government.

“We will always be looking for ways to make government more efficient and to crack down on waste.” The PM proved this a few moments later when he demonstrated that he could cut three-word slogans down to two: “Waste — down. Boats — stopped. Carbon tax — gone. Roads — underway.”

“Standing up for Australian values is something I have done all my life.” Except for that day you knighted Prince Philip.

“You elected us to be an adult government focused on you, not on ourselves.” Oops, there’s another broken promise.

“We’ve laid a strong foundation — but there’s more to do and we’re determined to get it done.” (If you heard echoes of Morris Iemma here, trust me, you are not alone. The difference is, Morris was electable.)

Then there were the lines that showcased the inanity and fluff of Abbott’s vision:

• “A stronger economy is the foundation of a stronger Australia.”

• “The government’s budget focus will be on strengthening the economy.”

• “Every big business started off as a small business.”

• “More affordable and more available childcare means less pressure on the family budget.”

Don’t get me wrong. These are laudable ideals. But these statements also represent the substance of the speech. If you were a nervous backbencher looking for some policy innovation or inspiration you could cling to, you would be left hanging.

The specific explanations of the future that the Prime Minister made in his speech were these: one, that no longer would knights and dames be selected solely within the monarchist fantasy-land of his private imagination, and two, his signature paid parental leave scheme is not “what will best help families at this time.”

The Prime Minister did not tell us what he thought was the best way to help families at this time. Those wanting specifics got this: “a better childcare policy is good economic policy as well as fairer family policy”.

Rather, the PM tried to worm his way into our hearts by telling us that he understood our challenges as working parents, that he knew that many women are working just to pay the childcare fees: “because that was the Abbott family’s experience when Margie first went back to work after becoming a mother.”

Excuse me, but the Abbott daughters are young adults. How can it be that Tony has known for 20 years that childcare is one of the greatest barriers to women returning to work, and he still brought in a gold-plated, unaffordable paid parental leave scheme rather than tackling childcare affordability?

As he drew to a close, the PM kicked the clichés into high gear.

“Leadership is about making the right decisions for our country’s future. It isn’t a popularity contest.” (Surely this doesn’t need to be explained — Kevin Rudd made this point rather dramatically.)

“Australia deserves the stable government that you elected us to be just 16 months ago.” Yes, and if you can tell us where to find it — under the couch? did we leave it in mum’s car? — that would be great.

“We promised that we would do our best to keep you safe.” Mentioned just in case you forgot to feel alarmed and on edge.

“We promised you hope, reward and opportunity.” And delivered dismay, cuts, and disappointment.

“The people will have the last word at the ballot box.” Yes, they will.

Kristina Keneally is a former Labor Premier of NSW and hosts Keneally & Cameron, Sky News, 4pm Fridays.