Pell and Abbott - two high profile Catholics who remain in denial concerning the extent of institutionalized child abuse and the part each may have played?

Cardinal George Pell and Minister for Health and Ageing Tony Abbott in 2004

This is the reality that is the Catholic Church in Australia in November 2013.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, self-styled Captain Catholic in a Radio 3AW (Melbourne) interview on 14 November 2013: As is pretty well known, I have a lot of time for George Pell... Well, I didn’t see his evidence before the committee and I haven’t read the report. He is, in my judgment, a fine human being and a great churchman.

Three snapshots from the Victorian Parliament Family and Community Development Committee Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Non-Government Organisations report entitled Betrayal of Trust:

Betrayal of Trust Report:
Volume 1 (PDF 2.2Mb),
Volume 2 (PDF 4.0Mb)

This is an excerpt from the 1997 evidence given by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, when he was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs, in support of an alleged paedophile priest, John Gerard Nestor, later forcibly laicized by the Vatican:

Q. You kept up your friendship with the defendant?

A. From time to time, yes.
Q. And you saw him?
A. From time to time, perhaps once or twice every twelve months. 
Q. And you've kept up that friendship until this day?
A. That's correct....
Q. First of all, how would you describe him as a man? 
A. An extremely upright and virtuous man. I guess one of things that I liked very much about John when I first him, was his maturity, intellectual, social, emotional he was, to that extent I guess, a beacon of humanity at the Seminary
Q. How did he appear to get on with his peers at the at Manly?
A. Obviously we have different relations with different people. John got on extremely well with some, less well with others. I guess one of the things that marked John out from his peers at the seminary was he was a man with high expectations of himself and others and I can recall on occasions being more than a little annoyed with him, because, you know, he would want to bring me up to the mark, bring me back to the path of virtue from time to time and this didn't always go over too well with me. And I guess it could annoy others as well.
Q. But as far as his own conduct was concerned, did you ever become aware of anything which would in any way question his beliefs and his dedication as a priest?
A. Never.
Q. And you've come all the way from Sydney today to give this evidence?
A. I have indeed.
Q. You do have other duties to perform? A. I have an electorate to represent and a ministry to assist.

NO CROSS-EXAMINATION

[http://tl.gd/n_1rjd2n5]  

On only the second full business day of the 44th Australian Parliament the Abbott Government appears to be in breach of a Senate Order

It seems that Prime Minister Tony Abbott is willing to defy a Senate Order For Production Of Documents, as what was tabled one hour and thirty-four minutes past the stated deadline was a Letter from the Assistant Treasurer (Senator Sinodinos) to the Clerk of the Senate (Dr Laing) responding to the order of the Senate of 13 November 2013, dated 14 November 2013.

BACKGROUND

Senate Hansard 12 November 2013:

Senator Cameron to move:

That there be laid on the table by the Minister Representing the Treasurer, by no later than 2 pm on Thursday, 14 November 2013; all documents relating to the decision to grant $8.8 billion to the Reserve Bank of Australia Reserve Fund, including, but not limited to, documents produced by and/or for, and communications to and/or from the following:

(a) the Treasurer;

(b) the office of the Treasurer;

(c) the Treasury;

(d) the Prime Minister;

(e) the office of the Prime Minister;

(f) the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet;

(g) members of the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia; and

(h) the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Senate Hansard 13 November 2013:

Reserve Bank of Australia

Order for the Production of Documents

Senator CAMERON (New South Wales) (15:46): I move:

That there be laid on the table by the Minister Representing the Treasurer, by no later than 2 pm on Thursday, 14

November 2013; all documents relating to the decision to grant $8.8 billion to the Reserve Bank of Australia Reserve Fund,

including, but not limited to, documents produced by and/or for, and communications to and/or from the following:

(a) the Treasurer;

(b) the office of the Treasurer;

(c) the Treasury;

(d) the Prime Minister;

(e) the office of the Prime Minister;

(f) the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet;

(g) members of the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia; and

(h) the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Question agreed to.

Senate Hansard 14 November 2013:

Senator SINODINOS (New South Wales—Assistant Treasurer) (15:34): I table my response relating to the order for the production of documents concerning the Reserve Bank of Australia reserve fund.*

* House of Representatives Hansard for 14 November confirms that the Labor Opposition's believes Sinodinos tabled none of the requested documents.

Madam Speaker Bronwyn Bishop - partisan, contradictory and in error

First the derogatory nickname used for the Labor Leader of the Opposition was ruled a description then in the next breath It was not a description. 

Either way the new Speaker found using a nickname was not unparliamentary, despite such use appearing to fly in the face of at least two sections of House of Representatives Standing and Sessional Orders** which were not included in those government amendments to these orders that were voted in at 12.44pm on 13 November 2013.

Excerpt from House Of Representatives Hansard of 13 November 2013:

Mr PYNE (Sturt—Minister for Education) (09:22): The reason standing orders should not be suspended on this occasion is that the coalition won the election two months ago and today we want to introduce the carbon tax repeal bills. On the draft daily program, the carbon tax repeal bills are listed for debate. Labor has demonstrated for the last 20 minutes that they will do anything to stand in the way of lowering electricity prices in this country. 

'Electricity Bill' Shorten, as his first political act in the parliament, has desired to get his Manager of Opposition Business to block the repeal of the carbon tax. 

Mr Burke: I rise on a point of order. A large number of comments were made yesterday about people being referred to by correct titles.To have the Leader of the House immediately abrogating that is inappropriate and his comment should be withdrawn. 

The SPEAKER: The Leader of the House was not addressing a member by any title; he was merely using a description and I do not find the term unparliamentarily. [sic]

Mr Burke: On the point of order, Madam Speaker, I am not sure whether you heard the description that was given— 

The SPEAKER: It was not a description. 

Mr Burke: but what we had was something that even the Prime Minister yesterday acknowledged could not be used within the chamber. 

The SPEAKER: I have already ruled on the point of order and you are raising the matter a second time.

** 64 No Member to be referred to by name

In the House and the Federation Chamber, a Member shall not be referred to by name, but by one of the following forms, as appropriate:

(a) the Member’s ministerial office (e.g. Prime Minister, Minister for Defence, Attorney-General);

(b) the Member’s parliamentary office (e.g. Leader of the House, Leader of the Opposition, Chief Government Whip);

(c) the Member’s electoral division (e.g. Member for Adelaide).

89 Offensive words

A Member must not use offensive words against:

(a) either House of the Parliament or a Member of the Parliament; or

(b) a member of the Judiciary.

Note:

The new Nationals Member for Page was in the Chamber and voted with other Government MPs to gag debate on the Speaker's ruling.

The Lies Abbott Tells

Tony Abbott treated the Australian electorate like a collection of fools as Opposition Leader and he continues in the same fashion as Prime Minister.

FACT

Australian Public Service Commission on 8 November 2013:

Guidance on the interim arrangements for recruitment in the Australian Public Service is now available.

The purpose of these arrangements is to help meet the Government’s commitment to a reduction of 12,000 employees through natural attrition. 

To meet this commitment and minimise redundancies, it will be necessary to control engagements very tightly. At the same time, we need to maintain viable front line services, particularly in regional locations, and preserve the skills required to meet the Government’s priorities.

Accordingly, the Government has agreed to a set of arrangements that make the redeployment of displaced employees, within agencies and across the APS, the first priority when filling vacancies....

Outline of Key Principles

4. The key elements of the interim recruitment policy are as follows, and are effective immediately:

a.   before considering any recruitment action, agencies should undertake careful and objective analysis of the role and whether it actually needs to be filled;

b.   priority is to be given first to displaced (or potentially displaced[1]) APS employees, then to other existing APS staff;

c.   agencies will only engage non-APS staff to fill critical vacancies with the agreement of the Australian Public Service Commissioner;

d.   staffing action which is underway should be suspended, except where an offer of employment has been made to a successful candidate (this action may be re-initiated after the redeployment register has been examined and where approval is sought from the APS Commissioner and where the Commissioner agrees that filling is essential);

e.    where new vacancies arise, agencies will follow these steps:

o    Step 1: the vacancy is to be filled by displaced staff from within the agency, or if none are suitable, by displaced staff from across the APS;

o    Step 2: if evidence is provided to the Commission that the agency has considered the CVs of displaced employees on the APS redeployment registers without finding a suitable candidate, and filling the vacancy is considered essential, the vacancy may be advertised internally (ie. within the APS on APSJobs[2]); and

o    Step 3: if steps 1 and 2 are unsuccessful, critical vacancies can be advertised to external candidates with the APS Commissioner’s agreement. These cases are expected to be rare and demonstrably exceptional, with the exception of positions funded through fee for service arrangements;

f.     Non-ongoing employment: consistent with the intention of these arrangements to support a significant reduction in APS employment overall, agency heads will take measures to ensure that existing non-ongoing employment arrangements cease at the end of their current term, and refrain from entering new arrangements, other than where the agency head approves a particular requirement in order to meet a critical business demand. Agency heads should also consider cancelling non-ongoing arrangements in the case of programs that have been closed or downgraded. Agency heads are to advise the APS Commissioner in writing on a monthly basis, using Form 1, providing details of when they have agreed to a new or extended non-ongoing engagement with details and reasons for the decision.

g.    agencies are to seek the APS Commissioner’s prior endorsement to conduct larger scale non-ongoing recruitment activities to meet essential business requirements; in particular, for intermittent and irregular non-ongoing employees.

5. The APS Commissioner’s Directions will be modified to allow promotions to continue to be available for existing APS employees where the vacancy was only advertised to APS employees. The new Directions will also require the APS Commissioner’s agreement before advertising is made open to the community. These measures are intended to be temporary and are intended to help achieve the Government’s objective to quickly and significantly reduce the size of the public service by natural attrition. Subject to the changed processes outlined here, the merit principle continues to apply in all other respects.

6. Agencies should ensure that positions considered as critical for filling are classified correctly against the appropriate work level standards as these will be used to assist matching against the redeployment register. Agencies should consult the SES and non-SES classification guides on the APSC’s website for further information....

Interim arrangements for APS recruitment processes

Media statement

On 31 October, CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Megan Clark advised staff about changes to recruitment processes at the organisation.

8 November 2013

The changes included the temporary suspension of external recruitment and contract renewals except in exceptional circumstances which will be considered on a case by case basis.

Dr Clark provided an update to staff today about the changes, including the following details:

“The figure quoted in the media today of 1500 staff under uncertainty is incorrect,” Dr Clark said.

“There are approximately 300 non-casual contracted staff whose terms finish in the 2013-14 financial year. In normal circumstances, a proportion of these terms are not renewed in any given year however we recognise that this temporary suspension will result in a higher than usual number of non-renewals.

“Regarding casual staff, CSIRO recruits casual staff primarily for seasonal work or for covering absences of administrative support staff – which provides employment opportunities for people who prefer this mode of employment or who may not be able to commit to full-time employment. In this financial year, we have around 150 casual staff whose contracts are due for renewal.

“I want to remind everyone that, with approval, we can still renew contracts and recruit to positions that are critical for our work.

“We will not be compromising on our commitments to industry or other key stakeholders through these changes. This approach will allow CSIRO to continue to deliver our outstanding work with industry and the community - work that has led to some of the country’s most valuable discoveries and inventions, such as Wi-Fi and the Hendra virus vaccine.

“In order to maintain longer term capability, we will continue targeted recruitment programs for our Indigenous employment and Post-Doctoral Fellows. We have around 50 positions currently open for recruitment, which are primarily for Post-Doctoral Fellows.” [my red bolding]

Note: The COMMONWEALTH SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ORGANISATION is a Commonwealth Government Entity. It is an entity within the portfolio of the Minister for Industry, Ian Macfarlane [See CSIRO Annual Report 2012-13 tabled in the Australian Parliament on 31 October 2013]. It is constituted and operating under the provisions of the Science and Industry Research Act 1949 and its primary functions under the Act are to carry out scientific research to benefit Australian industry and the community, and to contribute to the achievement of national objectives.

LIE

Prime Minister Tony Abbott in The Sydney Morning Herald 8 November 2013:

"We haven't made any cutbacks to the CSIRO. The management of the CSIRO and the employment of staff inside the CSIRO and the management of contractors for the CSIRO is a matter for the CSIRO itself,"

THE LIE REPEATED IN PARLIAMENT

On 13 November 2013, the first full day of the 44^th Australian Parliament, Tony Abbott stated in the House of Representatives during Questions Without Notice:

Mr ABBOTT (Warringah—Prime Minister) (14:07): I understand that the Leader of the Opposition has a job to do, but the problem with that question is that it was based on a farrago of falsehoods....

The Leader of the Opposition claims that we have cut jobs at the CSIRO. Management of the CSIRO is a matter for the management of that organisation. It is as simple as that.

Low, mean or petty behaviour in the House of Representatives is out says a 'reformed' Tony Abbott

Today will see the first full day of the 44^th Australian Parliament and the first House of Representatives’ Question Time with Tony Abbott as Prime Minister.

On 9 November 2013 Dennis Shanahan, one of Murdoch’s minions, told the world; CALM. If there is one word Tony Abbott and most of his ministerial colleagues want to be associated with as they prepare for the opening of the 44th parliament next week, it is calm. The main message the Prime Minister wants conveyed about this parliament is that it will be as unlike the 43rd - hung - parliament as possible.

Three days later another News Ltd journalist Ben Packham reported that Tony Abbott stated:

"When any of us are tempted to be low, mean or petty, the Member for Mackellar is well equipped to recall us to our duties....This parliament will be a different one, and a better one I hope."

Not a hint of even a slightly raised eyebrow from either man, given Abbott’s track record in the 42^nd and 43^rd parliaments.

By way of brief random example set out below, this is how Tony Abbott, as the Member for Warringah and/or Leader of the Opposition, behaved in the House of Representatives during those two parliaments.

It is interesting to note the frequency with which a self-confessed political liar accuses others of lying and, the level of disrespect he shows the various occupants of the Speaker’s chair and the prime ministers of the day.

A non-exhaustive list of statements Abbott made (in red) which were considered out of order and/or the Speaker requested he withdraw and, disruptive behaviour which saw him warned or ejected from the House:

22 February 2008 On a point of order, Mr Speaker: under the standing orders the member for North Sydney was raising a point of order. You are obliged under the standing orders to hear him out. It was quite improper of you— The member for Warringah will resume his seat. Mr Abbott interjecting. The member for Warringah will resume his seat! Mr Speaker, you are acting dishonourably. The member for Warringah will remove himself from the chamber under standing order 94(a) for one hour.

13 March 2008 the member for Warringah has spent the last debate advising from the sidelines on how the chair is to progress. He may have got away with it in the last parliament, but he should desist in this.....The member for Warringah will not come to the dispatch box and start talking until he has the call. I am not going to be hectored in this manner.

19 March 2008 Order! The honourable member for Warringah will resume his seat.

4 June 2008 Mr Abbott interjecting. Will the member for Warringah sit down. He cannot act in that disorderly manner. I use this point, after a comment was made to me, to remind people that nobody needs a warning to get one hour under standing order 94(a). The warning would also then lead to an ability to be named for one day....

I withdraw. I am justly—The member for Warringah will resume his seat.

5 June 2008 The member for Warringah will resume his seat.... The member for Warringah will refer to the member by his seat....

28 August 2008 Mr Speaker, on a point of order: the other day in this place you admitted that the word ‘dud’ was not unparliamentary— No. The member for Warringah— and I put it to you that it should not be described as unparliamentary just because ‘dud’ rhymes with ‘Rudd’. Just because ‘dud’ rhymes with ‘Rudd’ is no reason for it to become unparliamentary.

The member for Warringah will first resume his seat, but he is going to—regrettably for my statistics—get punishment for that outburst. It was nothing to do with the word that was used. It was just the blatant interjection and disruptive behaviour by the member for Fadden that he was invited to leave. On the basis that the member for Warringah has actually abused his opportunity in the way that he could give a sensible point of order, I also invite him to leave the chamber for one hour.

The member for Warringah then left the chamber.

10 November 2008 The member for Warringah is now abusing the point of order.....The member for Warringah will resume his seat. Points of order are not for abuse of the parliament.... The member for Warringah will resume his seat. 

11 November 2008 The member for Warringah is warned. That is not the appropriate manner in which to raise a point of order..... 

Oh, you coward. Order! The member for Warringah will leave the chamber for one hour under standing order 94(a), which is very generous on my part.

12 February 2009 The members for Sturt, Kalgoorlie, Warringah—and the member for Riverina, who is just leaving, or is somewhere—are warned!

19 March 2009 Order! The member for Warringah is not in any privileged place such that he can mutter on in that way either.

12 May 2009   Mr Abbott interjecting.The member for Warringah will leave the chamber for one hour. I hate to think that he thinks it is a reward! The member for Warringah then left the chamber—....The member for Warringah is warned.

3 June 2009 As I have indicated to the member for Warringah, I am not rewarding him again!

18 June 2009 The member for Warringah will not be rewarded in any way by being tossed out for an hour; in fact, I can now warn him, to be a trigger for a longer period.

24 June 2009 Order! The member for Warringah will resume his seat. Before calling the Prime Minister, again, I am not in the position of making critical analysis of questions and answers, but I will make this observation: the Prime Minister has been responding to the question and the question probably could have been answered quicker if there had been fewer interjections.

13 August 2009 Order! The member for Warringah should contain his enthusiasm.... As I said, the member for Warringah should contain his enthusiasm and not deny the member for Macarthur the call... Order! The member for Warringah will resume his seat—and he is warned.

7 September 2009 The member for Warringah will resume his seat. The minister is responding to the question.

10 September 2009 The member for Warringah will be staying here as long as everybody else, but he will do so relatively quietly.

14 September 2009 Order! I warn the member for Warringah. If he is going to wander around like that, he will take—... But I will not have people deciding that they can just wander around the House as a gesture. I have warned the member for Warringah.... I name the member for Warringah.... Order! The member for Warringah is suspended under standing order 94 for 24 hours.

15 September 2009 Order! The member for Warringah might think that he is on some crusade, but the crusade will not be benefited by sitting there mumbling to me about the state of play. Mr Abbott interjecting. No, the member for Warringah is being very, very foolish if he thinks that he is doing anything (a) to change the way that this House handles question time or (b) to assist in the way that the House, as a totality, is seen outside of this place. 

22 October 2009 Mr Abbott interjecting .....I have this difficulty with the member for Warringah giving me advice all the time about it. 

29 October 2009 Order! The member for Warringah will resume his seat. 

24 November 2009 The member for Warringah will resume his seat. The Prime Minister is responding to a question that is much broader than the member for Warringah is alleging....The member for Warringah is warned!

29 October 2009 Order! The member for Warringah will resume his seat. 

16 March 2010 Mr Abbott interjecting. Order! The Leader of the Opposition will withdraw. Mr Speaker, I am happy to withdraw, but they are lies.... I am happy to withdraw, but you need to know what they are like. The Leader of the Opposition will withdraw. I am happy to withdraw, but you need to know what they are like. The Leader of the Opposition knows of his obligation to withdraw unreservedly. Leaders of the opposition have been given a great degree of tolerance, but that is not unlimited.

18 March 2010 The first thing I will say about it is that members opposite—members of this government—should stop telling lies about the record of the Howard government. Every single year— Order! The Leader of the House will resume his seat. The Leader of the Opposition will withdraw. I withdraw, and I say they should stop telling grotesque untruths about the record of the Howard government. In every single year between 1996 and 2007—

27 May 2010 Mr Abbott interjecting. Order! The Leader of the Opposition should contain himself. The minister has the call.

1 March 2011 Mr Abbott interjecting. The Leader of the Opposition!....

Order! I remind the Leader of the Opposition that this is a motion for the suspension of standing and sessional orders. It is not a substantive motion and therefore he should be very careful with his language. On that occasion he should withdraw the remark. In deference I withdraw. I accept your admonition but I am entitled to say, Mr Speaker, that this Prime Minister broke faith with the Australian public. This Prime Minister behaved in a contemptible way by telling a deliberate untruth to the Australian people before the last election. The Leader of the Opposition will withdraw.  I besought the Prime Minister not to live a lie but if— Order! The Leader of the Opposition will withdraw. that is offensive I withdraw.

5 July 2011 The Leader of the Opposition must observe the standing orders which he is trying to suspend.

18 August 2011 Mr Abbott interjecting. Order! The Leader of the Opposition!

13 September 2011 Order! The Leader of the Opposition will withdraw the word 'lie'.

20 September 2011 Mr Abbott interjecting. The Leader of the Opposition! 

22 November 2011 Mr Abbott interjecting. Order! The Leader of the Opposition will withdraw. Mr Speaker, I did say 'her lies to working families' and I withdraw.

24 November 2011 There is no point of order. The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat.

8 February 2012 The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. 

28 February 2012 Will she now apologise for this deception.... Order! The Leader of the Opposition will retract the word 'deceive' because that is unparliamentary.

14 February 2012 Day after day, the now Prime Minister would stand up and come to the despatch box and say, 'Well, that was a lie.' Well, wrong. It was the truth, and the truth is that this Prime Minister never tells the truth. This Prime Minister is always guilty of falsehoods, of bluster and of deception. Order! The Leader of the Opposition has used— Strong language, Mr Speaker, and I do not apologise for using strong language, but I will tone it down out of respect for you. The leader has cast a reflection on the Prime Minister and he will withdraw it. I withdraw out of respect for you, Mr Speaker, not out of respect for this Prime Minister. No, the leader will withdraw unconditionally. I withdraw unconditionally out of respect for you, but not out of respect for this Prime Minister. I grow tired of listening to the bluster and the blather and the deception from the Prime Minister. Order! The leader will resume his seat....This is a Prime Minister who is incapable of honestly explaining her actions, a Prime Minister who is chronically incapable of giving truthful answers. Order! The leader will withdraw that imputation and reflection. I withdraw.... Thank you, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, we know what side you are on... Order! I believe I understood the leader to say that 'we know what side you are on', referring to me. As the occupant of the chair, I do not have a side so I would hope that the leader is not reflecting on the chair. I would counsel him against such a course of action.
 

13 March 2012 Mr Abbott interjecting. Order! The Leader of the Opposition does not have the call at this point in time

15 March 2012 They are telling lies now. That is why standing orders should be suspended..... What else can we expect from a government which never tells the truth when it would be more convenient to lie. I understand that the Leader of the Opposition, either directly or indirectly, referred to the honourable member for Griffith as a 'psychopath'. I ask him to approach the dispatch box to clarify the situation. If he did use that term, I ask him to withdraw. I was quoting the member for Bendigo, who described the member for Griffith in those terms. I consider that it is, shall we say, unhelpful for that to occur, and I still consider it to be disorderly. I will, however, look at the transcript. If I am still of the opinion that the Leader of the Opposition has reflected on the honourable member for Griffith, I will, next sitting day, ask the leader to withdraw...Order! The Leader of the Opposition has accused the Prime Minister of being dishonest and he has accused the government of telling lies. The Leader of the Opposition does not look remotely contrite, but if he wants to stay here he will move to the dispatch box and withdraw those two accusations.

I am delighted to withdraw, but every member in this House believes the same thing, and every member should come to the dispatch box and withdraw as I do.

The leader will return to the dispatch box and he will say, 'I withdraw those two terms', and not do as he endeavoured to do, which was to associate members of the coalition with the disorderly terms that he used. I did accuse the government of being dishonest, I did accuse the Prime Minister of lying and I withdraw. I withdraw unconditionally.

22 March 2012 Standing orders need to be suspended because this Prime Minister is suffering. I think she really is suffering. I am trying to be charitable. I think she has a new form of clinical disorder—TDD: truth deficit disorder—but there is a cure. This is why standing orders should be suspended. The Leader of the Opposition will be silent. The Leader of the Opposition will sit down. If you are not going to let me be heard, you will sit down. I am in the chair and I am trying to get your attention. I am going to ask you to withdraw and return to the suspension. I am happy to withdraw. There is a cure and this is why standing orders must be suspended. The Leader of the Opposition will go to the suspension and will get off this attack, or I will sit him down.

30 March 2012 She should tell the truth to this parliament.... She should answer that question and stop being shifty and evasive with this House. The first part of the question was in order; the last part was not... She should tell the truth to this parliament.... The Leader of the Opposition will withdraw the last part of that statement. 

13 May 2012 Mr Abbott interjecting.  Order! The Leader of the Opposition does not have the call at this point in time.

23 May 2012 Indeed, and one of the reasons standing orders should be suspended is that it is obvious from the conduct of the Leader of the House that this government is still determined to run a protection racket for the member for Dobell. And every time this jack-in-the-box gets up— The Leader of the Opposition knows I objected to those statements just yesterday. He can withdraw and proceed with his motion before the chair.

26 May 2012 ....What a disgrace! The Leader of the Opposition will withdraw. I withdraw. It is an abuse of question time to add that to the end of any question.

26 June 2012 Who's talking about integrity! The Leader of the Opposition is warned! 

28 June 2012 What a red-letter day! The Prime Minister is sitting in this chamber for once to face a suspension motion. Presumably, she is prepared to respond at last and to explain why it is that she is so thoroughly misled and lied to the Australian people before the last election. Order! The Leader of the Opposition will withdraw. I withdraw, Madam Deputy Speaker.

Thursday 16 August 2012 Standing orders must be suspended because this is the second anniversary of the big lie. The Leader of the Opposition will withdraw...

Mr Abbott interjecting. The Leader of the Opposition will withdraw, unreservedly. The Leader of the Opposition has been in this parliament long enough to know that that is unparliamentary language and he will withdraw.

20 August 2012 The Leader of the Opposition will withdraw without qualification. I withdraw. I thank the Leader of the Opposition. It is still an untrue statement. The Leader of the Opposition will remove himself from the chamber under standing order 94(a). The Leader of the Opposition has now been advised by the chair on more than one occasion. I asked you, as you approached the dispatch box, to do it without qualification. You could not help yourself. The Leader of the Opposition will leave the chamber under 94(a).

10 October 2012 You are a piece of work. I ask the Leader of the Opposition to withdraw. I am happy to withdraw.

[Hansard, OpenAustralia]

Abbott cutting green and red tape creates a diplomatic row

Is there no-one Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is not willing to offend in his ideological descent into political madness?

This time it is one of our largest trading partners, Japan, and our oldest ally, New Zealand. Along with Indonesia, Taiwan,  Republic of Korea, Philippines, South Africa and the European Union – countries which are members of or co-operate with the Commission for Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna.

The Sydney Morning Herald 9 November 2013:

The Abbott government has been rebuked by Japan and New Zealand for ditching Australia's commitment to monitor closely its catch of the endangered southern bluefin tuna.

Australia had undertaken to bring in a stereo-video monitoring system to measure more accurately its live catch after Japanese claims that Australian fishers were falsely counting their take of the prized fish.

Parliamentary secretary to the Agriculture Minister Richard Colbeck has shelved the proposal, claiming its $600,000 cost was unwarranted in an industry worth $150 million a year in exports.

Australia takes 5151 tonnes of southern bluefin tuna a year, the lion's share of a 12,449 tonne global catch split between nine nations.

The fish is listed as critically endangered by environment group the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Almost all of the Australian quota is taken by purse seine vessels operating in the Great Australian Bight under the control of Port Lincoln's tuna tycoons....

Japan told the controlling Commission for Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna last year it held ''grave concerns'' that the method used to count the fish was inaccurate.

In reply, Australia confirmed its commitment to implement a stereo-video monitoring system by December 1 to measure accurately the size of each fish.

But last month Australia told the commission the Abbott government was concerned the system would impose an ''excessive regulatory and financial burden''.

Senator Colbeck said it would impose ''a significant additional cost that was not warranted''.

He said it would be postponed until an automatic system could be developed.

Japan said it came to a meeting of the commission in Adelaide last month with high hopes that Australia would meet its promise.

''To our great disappointment, our expectations were crushed,'' Japanese commissioner Shigeto Hase said.

New Zealand commissioner Arthur Hore said the commission was dismayed by a further delay to an Australian commitment made in 2006. ''This delay will have a significant impact on the interests of other commission members,'' he said. ''This is disappointing to say the least.''....