Former PM would love ‘a fair dinkum job’ but not to ‘trip over toes’ of Indigenous affairs minister

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Tony Abbott has stared down calls for him to retire from public life and defended Peter Dutton, labelling him a “reluctant challenger last week”, who only wanted to see policy change.

The former prime minister made a number of public appearances on Monday, indicating he has “plenty of public life left in me” but remaining coy about his future role.

After Scott Morrison chose not to return Abbott to the ministry in a reshuffle, the former prime minister responded by questioning whether his new proposed role of special envoy for Indigenous affairs is “fair dinkum”.

In a speech to the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, Abbott confirmed earlier comments to 2GB radio that he was “not retiring”, but walked back suggestions he may not continue as the member for Warringah, telling a constituent in the audience he was “happy to remain” as their local member.

Abbott had earlier told 2GB he owed a debt of gratitude to the Liberal party and would do everything he could to help the Coalition win the next election, but perhaps not as an MP. “If that’s as the member for Warringah, if that’s as something else, I’ll just do the best I can.”

Abbott said the government was “now in that sensible, centre-right, Liberal, conservative mainstream”, with Morrison as prime minister.

“In defence of my friend and colleague Peter Dutton, he was a most reluctant challenger last week … just as I was back in 2009,” Abbott said. “Peter Dutton was someone who above all else wanted to change policy.”

Morrison’s recent statements and ministerial appointments suggested there would be “better policy”, Abbott said, citing the appointment of Angus Taylor – a strident opponent of wind energy – as minister for energy with a focus on getting prices down.

Abbott again advocated for pulling out of the Paris agreement, even though it was not a binding agreement, because Australian officials “unlike say French or Italian officials” were more respectful of rules and would feel obligated to act on it.

“Emissions are not irrelevant but the important thing is to get prices down and emissions will look after themselves.”



Abbott had been booked to speak at the CIS for some weeks, on the topic of immigration, but that speech was torn up and he instead addressed the events of last week’s leadership spill, and the “general state of politics”.

He railed against “political correctness”, incorrectly claiming the Australian military had issued directives not to address personnel by “he or she”..

“I mean, really, how do you give an order to ‘it’?” he said.

Morrison’s reshuffle excluded former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and Abbott from the ministry, but proposed creating new special envoy roles for them to deal with drought and Indigenous affairs.



Abbott told 2GB on Monday he would “love to do a fair dinkum job” but wants to see “what this new role entails” because he did not want to “trip over the toes” of the Indigenous affairs minister.





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“We’ve already got a lot of people in this space, I’d want to know exactly what value can I add given I’m already there as a backbencher and a former prime minister.”

Broadcaster Ray Hadley – under fire for encouraging MPs to abandon Turnbull in favour of conservative Peter Dutton – told Abbott the role was intended as an olive branch and sign of respect.

“We can all repair bridges – me included – and [Morrison’s] words to me were ‘it’s a fair dinkum job Ray, it’s not a pretend job’,” Hadley said.

Abbott said the portfolio of Indigenous affairs “requires prime ministerial authority to get things done ... it doesn’t need people running around at the margins; it needs someone at the very top to cut through”.

Abbott said he did not want “a title without a role”, adding that “somebody’s got to be able to make decisions”.

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Asked about suggestions the former Liberal deputy leader Julie Bishop plans to quit at the next election, Abbott said he is “not retiring”, describing himself as a “young man ... I still think I have a lot of public life left in me, Ray, I’m determined to make the most of it.”



Abbott said he owed a debt of gratitude to the Liberal party and said he would do everything he could to help the Coalition win the next election, but hinted his future role in public life may not be as an MP. “If that’s as the member for Warringah, if that’s as something else, I’ll just do the best I can.”

Abbott noted Monday’s disastrous Newspoll, with the Coalition down 56% to 44% on two-party preferred terms, and suggested “it’s all up from here”.

“Given we have the era of the political assassin behind us – I think the public will want to give Scott Morrison a fair go.”

Labor’s shadow Indigenous affairs minister, Pat Dodson, said that Abbott had a track record that shows he is “ignorant, hopeless and frankly offensive” on Indigenous issues.

“The suggestion that Tony Abbott could act as some kind of messenger or representative for First Nations people is condescending to the overwhelming number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who support the calls for a voice to parliament and a Makarrata commission to oversee truth-telling and agreement-making – both of which Mr Abbott has not supported.”