Gary, Apart from the people in his own electorate who really cares what Tony Abbot thinks ?

I should imagine Abbott thinks conservatism, is the only relevant 21st A.D. life in Australia.

His comment if correct, "Seculiarsm is ethically vacuous"
is a bit rich,when he represents a party that has no ethics period.

I made a list of the most deshpikkable [Daffy speak] pollies in federal parliament and Tony was right up the top as equal #1.
Along with John you-know-who, Phil from Amnesty, Kev the refugee basher, that 'nice' man Marlboro who cares so much about indigenous people, Tip the expert, Dolly the buffoon, Heff the Misogynist, Half Nelson the IDist and ......
Too many to list.

Another one for the remainders bin you'd think. Abbott's conservative would have to be social conservatism wouldn't it? He didn't have a lot of luck with that in power, so what makes him think it will fly now?

Lyn,
yes social conservatism plus deregulated markets.

What was rarely articulated was political conservatism that underpinned the authority of the big central state. Abbott was no friend of federalism as he was all in favour of a powerful centralized state.

fred,
I go tmost of them. Who is Tip the expert? What name have you given Julie Bishop?

Phill,
Abbott thinks that Nelson is doing a good on climate change, as he is:

calling into question the apocalytptic langauge of the climate change zealots.

That means the zealots. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

Nan,
Tip Costello.

Gary, I guess at the end of the day,I am a zealot.I despise the Australian Liberal Party, and anything associated with it.

No,I withdraw the comment despise this just doesn't cover it.I will troll all of the dictionary's of the world, to find a more appropriate adjective.

Their glib and shallow response, to what well may be the most difficult problem to face mankind, is an affront to what little intelligence I have.

The Tony Abbott's of this world,not in my life time much the pity,will be gone.Maybe in a hundred years if the world is still here,they should be mandatory study, for any one doing a PhD in philosophy.

A study if you like, how a handful of misguided people, went close to destroying the planet itself.

Over the top? maybe

Let the record show, I predict bigger things politically for Abbott. I used not to, but I now predict that like Howard "the times will suit" Abbott; and sooner than we would like to think.

There is still a hell of a lot of energy in the contemporary conservative impulse in this country.

Nan,
sorry about the delay, been away again.
Keating's barb at Costello, 'all tip, no ice berg' whilst Tip was masquerading as a economics expert, even tho' he didn't know how to work out the tax owed on a marginal income tax rate increase, something most Aussies do every year [in response to a question he took the new marginal rate to apply to the entire income rather than from the lower marginal level upwards, consequently he overestimated the tax owed by thousands of dollars]. It made me wonder who did his tax return for him.
No name for Julie cos the obvious ones relate to her appearance and I prefer not to do that.
Want to suggest one?

Fred,
how about Barbie Doll for Julie Bishop?

Oh I like that, it is multi-dimensional in its range of interpretations. I'll steal that with your permission.

Gary,
Abbott is going to argue in his book that there should be constitutional change to allow the commonwealth to override the states where there is political deadlock.

So he is in support of the expansion of centralized power and a more coercive approach. So he is no federalist, or a supporter of the subsidiary principle.