Despite half the country hoping Tony Abbott would fuck off into obscurity already, the man is back, and in a big way.
Abbott has today been awarded a Queens’s birthday honour for, get this, “eminent service to the people and Parliament of Australia, particularly as prime minister, and through significant contributions to trade, border control, and to the Indigenous community.”
“This award doesn’t mark the end of my public service, it’s just that it now takes a different form, and I wear a number of different uniforms to do it,” he said on Twitter.
I’m very honoured to receive this award. I could not have done anything in life without the members and supporters of the Liberal Party and it’s them I want to recognise and thank today, and the broader Australian people (1/2)
— Tony Abbott (@HonTonyAbbott) June 7, 2020
Let’s unpack this.
Abbott’s contributions to “border control” include presiding over illegal and inhumane offshore prisons. The man literally campaigned on the phrase “Stop The Boats”, reducing people seeking asylum, as is their right, to boogeymen.
While offshore processing was reintroduced by the Labor government before Abbott, he was nevertheless a vocal supporter of the policy and made it one of the cornerstones of his government.
Meanwhile, despite referring to himself as a “prime minister for Aboriginal affairs,” Abbott instead cut over $500 million in Indigenous affairs funding and quipped that invasion was a “defining moment” that brought the continent into the “modern world”.
This is the same guy who also said Aboriginal people living on country was a “lifestyle choice”. This wasn’t just a throwaway comment, either. It was in support of the Western Australian government’s plan to close up to 150 remote Aboriginal communities.
Abbott isn’t the only Lib to receive an award in this year’s Queen’s birthday honours.
Bronwyn Bishop was also on the list, not for her service to frequent flyer miles but for “distinguished service to the Parliament of Australia, to the people of New South Wales, and to women in politics.”
That’s… debatable.
For what it’s worth, the Queen doesn’t actually bestow the honours herself.
People are instead nominated by their fellow Australians before being assessed by an independent body, the Council of the Order of Australia. The Governor-General then hands out the awards.
How good is the monarchy.
