FORMER Prime Minister Tony Abbott has revealed his frustration at the mindless suggestion that Australians are sharing the pain of the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic.
In a wide ranging interview with the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) published last Wednesday, Mr Abbott made it clear that the “doing class” – and not the “talking class” – had worn the brunt of the crisis.
“One of the most grating phrases of this whole pandemic has been ‘we’re all in this together’ because frankly we haven’t been in it together,” he said. [see video clip below]
PAY CUT
“We have got a private sector calamity happening and … no public servant has lost his or her job, no public servant has had his or her pay cut – in fact in some States their pay has dramatically increased.”
Mr Abbott said politicians needed to quickly rethink this.
“In Victoria, I think politicians’ pay has gone up while there has been this massive job shedding in the private sector and the people who still have jobs have, in many instances, had a 20 per cent pay cut,” he told IPA Executive Director John Roskam.
“So please, let’s not repeat this grating phrase that we are all in this together because what we are seeing out there at the moment is a calamity for the private sector.
“I’m not normally a big fan of the New Zealand Prime Minister, but as I understand it members of parliament and senior public servants in New Zealand have taken a 20 per cent pay cut for six months.”
He said Australia should consider a similar approach.
“I certainly would like to think that all the private sector workers in Australia who have taken a 20 per cent pay cut will have their wages restored swiftly because I want us to be a high wage country not a low wage country.
SENSIBLE
“In this instance, however, the sensible thing to do would be to follow Jacinda Ardern and temporarily reduce the salaries of MPs and public servants earning, say, over $150,000 a year.”
Mr Abbott said he was also concerned at the hand-over of decision-making to “experts”.
“Pandemics are far too important to be left to the doctors. In the end it is vital that the elected politicians maintain direction of events and direction of policy,” he said.
“Listen to all the epidemiologists – not just the ones that are, as it were, banging the panic drum. Listen to all of them, make the best decision you can and then get on with it.
“Every elected politician is accountable … no ‘expert’ is accountable to anyone other than the vague concept of peer review, perhaps.
“In the end it has to be an elected, accountable politician in charge.” PC
Great comments Tony, I hope that you make a return to Australian leadership soon because we truly need you now more than ever!
Bring this man back into the fold! He is a true Liberal & a great lost to the party! He is also very Loyal to the party!
Whose going to pay the high salaries of politicians and even higher paid public servants if too many businesses – and their employees – are out of business? Be prepared for higher taxes, traffic blitzes on locations where the boundaries are obscure eg the site of 3 lane south travelling traffic on Pittwater Road opposite Warriewood Sports High School – where the flashing light 40mph sign was down the driveway of a service station and under some trees, the centre median strip was badly signed – until after numerous people had their fines and lost their 4 demerit points. The middle lane by the median strip of course had no way of seeing the flashing light, especially when there was a big truck or bus in between.
Gladys, that’s the sort of thing people remember at election time!
Public sector salaries should be linked to private sector salaries, economic performance outcomes and dept:GDP. Top public sector mandarins should get no more than average annual income multipled by 20, minus the unemployment rate.
Well said. But is the current unemployment rate enough of a minus>
All of the above comments and hundreds more on social media indicate that Australians have lost a leader who always put the country first. Can the clock be turned back for all our sakes. These are dire times, and they are only going to get worse.
I agree wholeheartedly, Tony. The stark, happy fact is that for a variety of reasons we have revealed in Australia that our survival from new virus infection pandemics generally is gratifyingly, well over 99%.
I agree with Scott Morrison’s approach – let the designated “healthy” get out to work while sensibly observing personal distancing as we did in previous pandemics like SARS and MERS, and before them the “Hong Kong ‘Flu” in the 70s. Plus isolate the vulnerable.
Most people then, as now, “got the ‘flu” (to avoid the “C” word) and recovered.
The healthy then generate herd immunity. Then panic over.
The difference between then and now? Instant Direct Digital access to every single surgery, hospital and nursing home – even individuals now – to simultaneous media contacts and State Departments of Health that give hourly numbers of flu contacts (I still cannot believe this is happening!);
panicked politicians and drama-toned announcers then making multiple daily news bulletins back to every single person.
This generates a panic that feeds on itself and grows by its own amplifiers.
First pandemic since the Spanish Flu”? I don’t think so.
Isolate at home and survive? How? It will still be there next year.
Want to know how to maximise your immunity? Ask a natural health professional.
As an eminent immunologist and infectious disease specialist has said right from the beginning: The panic is far worse than the pathogen and emphasising the problems the way I see with the government is badly advised.
Thank you Tony Abbott for once again showing such insight & wisdom in your commentary on the phrase ‘We’re all in this together’. Yes! The doers who manage to remain independent of government are agitated. As PM you tried to engender a sense of contributing to the system but there appears to be a sense of entitlement with many & the ‘cargo cult’ mentality that the money flows from somewhere & the more you can get the better – try to cut back & a huge backlash ensues. Simply not sustainable.
Grateful for your wonderful contribution to our country.
Well said Tony. We really need you back in politics.
You are the voice of reason.
THANK YOU.
When the public sector is sacrificing the private sector during a pandemic, it is plain to see that there is no plan for the nation and no plan for generating wealth that can rebuild and grow the nation. Australia needs a Union of Productive Business – a body to hold Government to account, and boycott public sector policy that weakens the nation (like highly paid bureauchrats over paying themselves whilst under paying police, nurses, teachers etc, and throwing the private sector overboard). The wealth of the nation is generated by hard working business owners, but wasted by highly paid unqualified politicians buying votes (giving free money to the idle and moaning class), which is demoralizing and demotivating for enterprising people who generate the national wealth. Note to politicians – I used to employ 10 people, now I employ none because it is too difficult and the risks of employing people are no longer worth the reward. I’ve lost count of the people I’ve talked to over recent years who have said “I will never employ another person as long as I live” and “we’re cashing up and preparing to move abroad because AU will need to raise more taxes to pay for welfare”.
The above rational, sensible & appropriate comments are yet another example of why Tony Abbott should still be Prime Minister & why every Australian should be disgusted & disturbed by the actions of Malcolm Turnbull, assisted by those other Liberal members who betrayed their leader
With brilliance in such short supply, how could a country side-line this man? He ranks among the great political thinkers of our time. Just compare Trump, Boris and Abbott!
The day Turncoat stabbed Tony Abbott in the back was, without any doubt, one of the worst days in Australian Political History.
In the present situation, my guess is that Abbott would have firmly taken the reins with a truly Conservative and logical approach; no hysterical over-reaction, no relying on a Labor-weighted, unelected ‘Cabinet’ to shut the whole of Australia down and turn us into a socialist basket-case, a welfare-dependent state.
Instead of the draconian, economy blasting lockdowns, what was needed was to have a comprehensive shielding of the vulnerable enacted and some astute, careful restrictions, (such as a ban on crowded gatherings), prescribed for the rest.
In this scenario, there’d have been only a small group left stranded and needing a restrained Government allowance.
Now Abbott’s suggestion of a 20% pay cut for those well-paid, public sector employees makes fully-justifiable, unerring sense. It should’ve happened three months ago as it did in New Zealand.
And as for that completely incompetent, shambolic Dan Andrews doing the exact opposite by giving his politicians a raise, – well there are no words that could adequately damn that noxious action or sufficiently express the seething anger it must provoke amongst the decimated private sector!
Tony Abbott is one of the few people that I would trust to run the government, the unfortunate point is that he is not yet back in Parliament.
He is also all to accurate in the statement that “WE ARE NOT IN THIS TOGETHER” it is just Orwellian speak.
I can’t believe how much I was lied to about Tony Abbott by the MSM. I’m sorry it took so long for me to wake up and see through all the BS – thanks for being our Prime Minister Tony Abbott – I thought we had no leaders in this country but I can see I was wrong.
Well said Tony Abbott! But do the people of Victoria understand what is happening with pay rises in our government while there is so much job loss and financial insecurity – AND the pain of families being separated! PLEASE CONTINUE TO SPEAK OUT TONY.