Tony Abbott has gone from openly campaigning against marriage equality to claiming the entire thing was his invention, his doing, his masterplan.
“This whole idea of a plebiscite was mine, originally,” Abbott said yesterday on 2GB, which is true, and not particularly a proud boast given the damage it caused in many corners. “I think the result now should be respected — respected by the community, respected by the parliament.”
He was even gracious enough to not trample one of the most important days of his gay sister Christine’s life, too. What a guy!
“This is a great day for everyone who has been campaigning on this for a decade, and I am certainly not going to rain on her parade,” Abbott said.
He repeated his ownership claim numerous times: “I put this process in place. I have, in a sense, facilitated the change.”
It’s quite the flip, considering just three days ago he wrote in The Australian urging ‘no’ campaigners to “keep the faith”, writing that “for too long we have put up with the trashing of our country’s history and the rubbishing of our ethical norms because we didn’t want to upset people.”
Even after the results were announced, his official statement — ostensibly in support of the decision — stung a bit, with phrases such as “I also thank the 4.7 million Australians who supported marriage between a man and a woman.”
Perhaps Abbott’s new woke status could be down to the fact that his own electorate Warringah showed overwhelming support for marriage equality, with a 75% ‘Yes’ vote. He needs to keep these people onside.
“I am not going to vote against this, I am not going to frustrate the will of the public.”
