Template:Montgomery Radio and Tony Abbott: Difference between pages
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{{Infobox Prime Minister
| name =The Hon. Tony Abbott
| order =[[Minister for Health and Ageing (Australia)|Australian Minister for Health and Ageing]]
| term_start =2003
| term_end =
| predecessor =[[Kay Patterson]]
| successor = Incumbent
| birth_date =[[4 November]] [[1957]]
| birth_place =[[London]], [[United Kingdom]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| spouse =Margaret
| religion =[[Roman Catholic]]
| constituency =[[Division of Warringah|Warringah]]
| party =[[Liberal Party of Australia]]
| languagesspoken =[[English language|English]]
}}
:''For other people called Tony Abbott, see [[Tony Abbott (disambiguation)]].''
'''Anthony John "Tony" Abbott''' (born [[4 November]] [[1957]]), [[Australia]]n politician, is the Minister for Health and Ageing in the Australian federal government and Leader of the House in the [[Parliament of Australia|Federal Parliament]]. Since 1994, he has been the Member for [[Division of Warringah|Warringah]], in [[New South Wales]] in the [[Australian House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] for the [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal Party]].
== Early life ==
Abbott was born in [[London]]<ref name="houseofrepsbio">{{cite web | url = http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/biography.asp?id=EZ5 | title = The Hon Tony Abbott MP, Member for Warringah (NSW) - Parliament of Australia: House of Representatives biography | accessdate = 2006-04-04 |}}</ref> to Australian parents. In [[1960]], his family returned to Australia, living first in [[Bronte, New South Wales|Bronte]] then moving to [[Chatswood, New South Wales|Chatswood]]. Abbott was initially schooled at Highfield Kindergarten before attending the Holy Family Convent. In Year 3 he started at [[St Aloysius' College (Sydney)]] and attended there until he completed his secondary school education at [[St Ignatius' College, Riverview]] in [[Sydney]].<ref name="completelybiased">{{cite web | url = http://completelybiased.blogspot.com/2004/11/ignorance-reigns-supreme.html | title = Completely Biased: Ignorance Reigns Supreme | accessdate = 2006-04-04 |}}</ref><!-- this is an extremely unreliable reference, PLEASE find another one, I am using it for lack of better choice ~~~~ --> He graduated from the [[University of Sydney]], residing at [[St John's College, University of Sydney|St John's College]], with a Bachelor of Economics (BEc) and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB).<ref name="houseofrepsbio" /> At university he was active in student politics, gaining media attention for his political stance opposing the then dominant left-wing student leadership. He was also a prominent student boxer. He then went on to attend the [[University of Oxford]] as a [[Rhodes Scholar]] and graduated with a Master of Arts (MA). A devout [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]], he then considered the Catholic priesthood, and entered St Patrick's diocesan seminary in Sydney, but subsequently decided to leave and choose another career path.
Despite his right wing leanings, Abbott has admitted he voted Labor in the [[New South Wales legislative election, 1988|1988 NSW State Election]] as he thought "[[Barrie Unsworth]] was the best deal Premier that New South Wales had ever had.". <ref> http://www.abc.net.au/sundayprofile/stories/s1389511.htm </ref>
After leaving the seminary, Abbott worked as a journalist for ''[[The Bulletin]]'', an influential news magazine. He became well known for his strongly worded criticism of trade unions, [[feminism]] and left-wing politics. For a period, Abbott was a Plant Manager for [[Pioneer Concrete]] before becoming press secretary to the Leader of the Opposition, [[John Hewson|Dr John Hewson]] in 1990-93, and between 1993 and 1994 was the Executive Director of [[Australians for Constitutional Monarchy]].<ref name="houseofrepsbio" />
==Family==
Abbott is married to Margaret with whom he has three daughters.<ref name="partypage">{{cite web | title = Tony Abbott-Liberal for Warringah - About Tony | url = http://www.tonyabbott.com.au/about/about.html | accessdate = 2006-04-04 |}}</ref>
== Political career ==
Abbott was elected to the [[Australian House of Representatives]] at a by-election in March 1994, following the resignation of [[Michael MacKellar]]. He was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs 1996-98, Minister for Employment Services 1998-2001, Minister for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business 2001, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations 2001-03 and Minister for Health and Ageing from 2003.
Abbott is an aggressive parliamentary debater and political tactician. His appointment as Health Minister, traditionally a difficult portfolio {{POV-statement}}, makes him one of the government's most senior ministers.
As Minister for Health and Ageing, Abbott has made reductions in funding to the [[Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme]] and [[Medicare (Australia)|Medicare]]. In 2004, he also introduced the [[Medicare Safety Net]], which caps the annual [[Out-of-pocket expenses|out-of-pocket costs]] of Medicare card holders to a maximum amount.
== Political views ==
Abbott is widely known as an outspoken [[social conservatism|socially conservative]] [[Catholic]] who opposes [[abortion]]. This has earned him the nickname ''The Mad Monk'' in certain political circles and in the widely circulated [[Crikey]] newsletter. Abbott has suggested legislation to reduce access to abortion, although this has been opposed by some of his Parliamentary colleagues in the Liberal Party. In March 2004, he asked: "Why isn't the fact that 100,000 women choose to end their pregnancies regarded as a national tragedy approaching the scale, say, of [[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal]] [[life expectancy]] being 20 years less than that of the general community?" [http://www.cathnews.com/news/403/97.php]. Abbott has promised to launch an investigation into a product called [[Baby Gender Mentor#Competition|Pink or Blue]], which is made by [[United Kingdom|UK-based]] DNA Worldwide, a division of [[United States|US-based]] Consumer Genetics. This test is one of several pre-natal blood tests designed to detect the sex of a fetus as early as six weeks into pregnancy. Ethicists have raised concerns that knowing the sex of a foetus so early into pregancy would facilitate [[Sex-selective abortion and infanticide]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21715528-5001021,00.html | title=Pick-your-baby test investigated | publisher=The Daily Telegraph | date=[[May 12]] [[2007]] | author=Masters, Clare | accessdate=2007-05-18}}</ref>
A [[conscience vote]] took place in February 2006, approving a measure that moved regulatory control of the abortion drug [[RU486]] away from the Health Minister. Abbott and previous Health Ministers had decided not to allow it to be made available. Abbott responded to the vote by calling for funding of alternative counseling to pregnant women through church-affiliated groups. During this time, Abbott criticised the acceptance of abortion, saying "... we have a bizarre double standard, a bizarre double standard in this country where someone who kills a pregnant woman's baby is guilty of murder but a woman who aborts an unborn baby is simply exercising choice"<ref>http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2006/s1571075.htm</ref>.
== Controversies ==
In [[May 2006]], Abbott, as Manager of Government Business, called the Opposition MP, [[Kelvin Thompson]], a "snivelling grub" in the Parliament for speaking about [[National Party of Australia|Nationals]] MP [[John Anderson]]'s shares in the [[Cole Inquiry|disgraced]] [[Australian Wheat Board]]. Abbott then said "If I've offended grubs, I withdraw unconditionally." The comments were not widely reported until a week later when Labor Deputy Leader [[Julia Gillard]] (then Shadow Minister for Health) was ejected from Parliament for 24 hours after using the exact same phrases about Abbott. Abbott later told the Parliament "It would have been better if I had not moved the motion in the terms that I originally did."<ref>http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2006/s1652219.htm</ref>
In [[July 2006]], when visiting the Pitlands in north-west [[South Australia]], Abbott suggested [[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal people]] could be recruited to shoot wild camels that inhabit [[Central Australia]]. "Why not get them out shooting the camels," he said. "It gives them something they would love to do and it beats petrol sniffing." <ref>http://www.missionandjustice.org/?p=902</ref>.
===Action against One Nation Party===
In 1998, Abbott established a trust fund called "Australians for Honest Politics Trust" to help bankroll civil court cases against the [[One Nation]] Party and its leader [[Pauline Hanson]]. Prime Minster [[John Howard]] denied any knowledge of existence of such a fund. <ref>http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2003/s933534.htm</ref> Abbott was also accused of offering funds to One Nation dissident Terry Sharples to support his court battle against the party. However, Prime Minister Howard defended the honesty of Abbott in this matter. <ref>http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/28/1062028265844.html</ref>
It was Sharples' legal action that laid the basis for the successful prosecution of the One Nation founders Pauline Hanson and [[David Ettridge]]. <ref name="smh1">http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/27/1061663855108.html</ref>
Opposition MP [[Craig Emerson]] demanded to know where the money for the Trust, reportedly $100,000, had come from saying that taxpayers had a right to know. <ref>http://www.australianpolitics.com/news/2003/08/03-08-26.shtml</ref>
Treasurer [[Peter Costello]] said of the actions of Abbott that "I don't think that the way to resolve political disputes is through the courts. I think the way to resolve it is at the ballot box." <ref>http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/02/1062403516586.html</ref>
Abbott conceded that the political threat One Nation posed to the Howard Government was "a very big factor" in his decision to pursue the legal attack, but he also claimed to be acting "in Australia's national interest". Prime Minister Howard also defended Abbott's actions saying "It's the job of the Liberal Party to politically attack other parties - there's nothing wrong with that."<ref name="smh1"/>
===Alleged son===
When Abbott was 19, his then girlfriend Kathy Donnelly gave birth to a son whom she adopted out. Abbott believed the son was his and described this as an intense personal experience, which solidified his strong anti-abortion views. {{Fact|date=July 2007}} The identity of this son was not known until late 2004, and it was soon publicly revealed that this child was Daniel O'Connor, an [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] sound recordist who worked in [[Parliament House]], [[Canberra]] and who had often been involved in making television programs in which Abbott appeared. [[DNA testing]] later revealed, however, that Abbott was not O'Connor's biological father.<ref>http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200503/s1328485.htm</ref>
== Community Service ==
Abbott is a volunteer member of the [[New South Wales Rural Fire Service|NSW Rural Fire Service]] <ref>http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/abbott-fights-flames-in-bushfires/2006/01/27/1138319422809.html</ref> as a member of the [[Davidson Rural Fire Brigade]].
Abbott has participated in many events for charity. He has even run in a 100km [[marathon]] for charity. <ref>http://www.walksydneystreets.net/media_press_radio02.htm</ref>. In April 2007, Abbott launched the 10th annual Pollie Pedal, a charitable event which aimed to raise money for [[breast cancer]]. <ref>http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21562363-5006009,00.html</ref>. Colleague [[Jim Lloyd]] said that Abbott was the "[[brainchild]]" of this event. <ref>http://www.ministers.dotars.gov.au/jl/pressconf/2005/LPC_9_2005.htm</ref>
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{{incumbent succession box | title=Member for [[Division of Warringah|Warringah]] | before=[[Michael MacKellar]]| start=1994}}
{{succession box | title=Minister for Employment Services | before=none | after= [[Mal Brough]] | years=1998 – 2001}}
{{incumbent succession box | title=[[Australian Minister for Health|Minister for Health and Ageing]] | before=[[Kay Patterson]]| start=2003}}
{{end box}}
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
{{wikinewspar|Australian Health minister makes inappropriate comments about Brogden suicide attempt}}
*[http://www.tonyabbott.com.au/ Personal website]
*[http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200502/s1306958.htm Story on reunion with his putative son]
*[http://www.theage.com.au/news/science/abbott-opposes-call-to-relax-cloning-laws/2005/09/29/1127804597157.html Abbott opposing stem cell research]
*[http://www.bewareofthegod.com/wp-images/Abbott.pdf Documentation of Abbott's religio-political links]
*[http://www.abc.net.au/sundayprofile/stories/s1389511.htm Wide-ranging discussion of personal beliefs]
*[http://www.smh.com.au/specials/abbottaffair/ Sydney Morning Herald Coverage of the Trust Fund Controversy]
{{Current Australian Cabinet}}
{{AustraliaCurrentMPsNSW}}
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
{{Persondata
|NAME=Abbott, Tony
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Abbott, Anthony John (full name)
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Australian politician
|DATE OF BIRTH=[[4 November]] [[1957]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[London]], [[United Kingdom]]
|DATE OF DEATH=living
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
[[Category:1957 births|Abbott, Tony]]
[[Category:Australian Rhodes scholars|Abbott, Tony]]
[[Category:New South Wales Federal politicians|Abbott, Tony]]
[[Category:Liberal Party of Australia politicians|Abbott, Tony]]
[[Category:Members of the Cabinet of Australia|Abbott, Tony]]
[[Category:Monarchists|Abbott, Tony]]
[[Category:Living people|Abbott, Tony]]
[[Category:Australian Roman Catholics|Abbott, Tony]]
[[Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Warringah|Abbott]]
[[Category:Government ministers of Australia|Abbott, Tony]]
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