Tony Abbott is a self-confessed admirer and follower of the great 18th century Anglo-Irish politician Edmund Burke, whom many view as the father of modern political conservatism. Abbott's 2009 book Battle Lines is peppered with references to Burke and more contemporary British political conservative thinkers like Michael Oakeshott and Roger Scruton. But there is nothing conservative about the cavalier approach that Abbott and his government is taking to the two core beliefs of conservatives – the rule of law and the importance of checks and balances on the power of the executive.

The allegations of payments of bribes to people smugglers by Australian government officials is met by Abbott with a "well, whatever it takes" attitude. His proposal to keep the courts away from a mooted ministerial power to strip individuals of citizenship is underpinned by a contempt for the role of judges in preventing government from meeting its political objectives. These are not positions with which Burke and his intellectual successors would be comfortable.

Paying people smugglers: Can a government with iniquity for the sake of some greater good? In general, the answer is yes – but within limits. Credit:AFP

Or to put it another way, Abbott and his government are conducting themselves in some key policy areas that make of a mockery of claims of the Prime Minister and his supporters to be a genuinely conservative political force.

Jesse Norman, the author of a 2013 biography of Burke titled Edmund Burke: Philosopher, Politician, Prophet, notes that Burke "was driven throughout his career by a hatred of excessive power, and the arbitrary use and abuse of power". Burke stood for a society governed by the rule of law and the dispersion of power.