Tony Abbott’s Finally Bitten The Bullet And Resigned Since Getting Ousted As PM Last Night
He's gone.
One of the weirdest parts of the ousting of Tony Abbott by Malcolm Turnbull last night has been the complete silence from the still-technically-PM since he got the boot. Prime Ministers like Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd fronted the media immediately after they were deposed by their parties, but nothing’s been heard from Abbott since his pre-party room press conference last night.
His absence was noted by Twitter in particular, where the hashtag #WhereIsTony has been inspiring both hilarity and a small, niggling sense of worry.
Tony Abbott refuses to come out of room or speak to parents. #auspol #libspill #WhereIsTony http://t.co/oGiIzvefeP pic.twitter.com/Ykp7Mc8TMU
— The Betoota Advocate (@BetootaAdvocate) September 15, 2015
Tony in the Bronco. #WhereIsTony pic.twitter.com/zeYmoABNmW
— Adam Zwar (@adamzwar) September 15, 2015
Come on dude. It’s starting to get a bit weird. #WhereIsTony
— Lisa Pryor (@pryorlisa) September 15, 2015
But Abbott’s surfaced at Parliament House, calling a press conference in the Prime Ministerial courtyard at 12:30 to officially resign as PM and hand over the reins to Turnbull. Even there, he ran late enough to give everyone the willies.
Pictured: the Australian Prime Minister for the last twelve hours.
Standing in front of only two flags, Abbott joked that there was “quite a crowd today” and pledged not to engage in the kind of undermining that’s characterised Australian politics for the last few years.
“This is not an easy day for many people in this building. Leadership changes are never easy for our country, but I intend to make this one as easy as I can,” Abbott said.
“There will be no wrecking, no undermining, no sniping. I’ve never leaked or backgrounded against anyone, and I don’t intend to start now. Our country deserves better than that … This is a tough day, but when you join the game, you accept the rules.”
Abbott said “there was much I still wanted to do,” like securing Constitutional recognition for indigenous people and tackling the “scourges” of ice and domestic violence, before defending his government’s record.
“Our government wasn’t perfect, we were a government of men and women, not Gods walking upon the earth. But … we stayed focused, despite the white-anting.”
He also took a swipe at the media, urging them not to help politicians undermine each other.
“The nature of politics has changed in last decade — there are more polls, more commentary, mostly sour bitter character assassination. Poll-driven panic has produced a revolving-door Prime Ministership, and a febrile media culture that rewards treachery,” Abbott said.
“If I could give one piece of advice, it would be: refuse to print self-serving claims that the person making them won’t put his or her name to. Refuse to connive at dishonour by refusing to be the assassin’s knife.”
There’s no word on whether he intends to stay in Parliament or if he’ll retire at the next election. The House of Reps is sitting later this afternoon, and he has a new seat in the nosebleed section.
He didn’t mention Turnbull at any point, who is due to be sworn in as Prime Minister at around one o’clock this afternoon.