Add CategoryFORMER Prime Minister Tony Abbott was famous for constantly putting his foot in his mouth, but also for his “captain’s picks†- many of which were controversial.
We’ve compiled a list of the ten most ridiculous calls Abbott made in his tenure as Prime Minister.
OOPS: Abbott’s most cringeworthy gaffes
LIVE COVERAGE: Turnbull replaces Abbott as Prime Minister
Installed Bronwyn Bishop as speaker
Abbott’s decision to appoint Bishop as speaker in 2013 sparked controversy within parliament, with many Labor members claiming that she showed unfair bias.
Between December 2014 and April 2014, Bishop threw 99 MPs out of the chamber — all of whom belonged to the Labor Party.
Of course, this captain’s call came back to bite Abbott in the butt when Bishop became embroiled in a travel entitlements saga this year which saw her resign from her position after weeks of negative press.
Reintroduced dames and knights
You’ve got to give it to Abbott — he’s good at recycling decade-old ideas.
Abbott took Australia by surprise when it was announced in March 2014 that he was reintroducing knights and dames of the Order of Australia with little to no consultation with his party.
Dames and knights were discontinued in Australia in 1986.
The decision to reintroduce the fancy honour was met with much derision within the Australian community, with many saying Abbott was out of touch with the public.
Knighted Prince Philip
This week’s coup was not the first time Abbott’s leadership was brought into question — he was also a source of intense internal discontent after it was announced that he was awarding Queen Elizabeth II’s husband Prince Philip with a knighthood on Australia Day.
After being dragged through the mud in the media and being ridiculed by the general public, Abbott conceded to the National Press Club that he “probably overdid it†and would leave the allocation of knighthoods to the Order of Australia Council in future.
“I have listened, I have learned, I have acted, and those particular captain’s picks which people have found difficult have been reversed,†Abbott said.
Backflipped on Paid Parental Scheme
It was one of the Coalition’s election promises, and Abbott had even spruiked it as his “signature†plan — to provide mothers with 26 weeks of paid parental leave at their actual wage instead of 18 weeks at the minimum wage.
Unfortunately for Abbott, the scheme was never popular inside his party and after intense scrutiny from his colleagues, it was announced that the scheme would not go ahead.
Then it was revealed that some parents would actually now be kicked off the existing scheme.
Malcolm Turnbull supporter Arthur Sinodinos slammed the decision, and said “some of the language has not been particularly empatheticâ€.
“It’s not a good look to be having a go at the young mothers or new mothers of Australia and I think some of the language has been a bit unfortunate,†he told Sky News.
Local Government recognition
Before Abbott ascended to the Prime Ministership in 2013, he angered his colleagues by announcing plans to overturn the party’s policy of not supporting constitutional recognition of local government.
Labor were pushing for recognising local government in the constitution, which would have allowed funds to flow directly from the Commonwealth to the councils.
Liberals opposed to the move out of fear that it would lead to abuse of grants and was just finding a way around the states and federalism.
The party had previously rejected and successfully fought constitutional recognition of local government in 1988.
But after Kevin Rudd took back over from Julia Gillard as prime minister, Abbott quickly pulled his support.
“I have enormous reservations about the way the Government has done this,†he said.
$20 cut to the Medicare rebate
It was announced in the 2014 budget that the government would start charging a $7 co-payment for visiting doctors from July 2015.
Under the announced changes, some visits to the doctor may have gone up by $20, with the rebate cut from $37.05 to $16.95.
It would have saved $3.5 billion over five years, according to budget figures.
Several Liberal party members were upset by the plan, claiming it was one of Abbott’s now infamous captain’s calls.
But Abbott vehemently denied that it was his decision alone, and said there had been “vigorous discussions†inside cabinet and there was a “unanimous†decision.
It was reported that both Joe Hockey and Peter Dutton had strongly opposed the decision.
After much debate and derision in the community, Minister Sussan Ley announced it had been taken “off the tableâ€.
“Sometimes it’s better to reverse a position than continue with a decision that’s going to have bad ramifications,†she said.
Abbott said in parliament that it was “dead, buried and crematedâ€.
Barred ministers from ABC’s Q & A
ABC’s Q&A came under fire after its producers allowed former terrorism suspect Zaky Mallah to speak live on air.
Abbott’s reaction was to ban Government frontbenchers from appearing on the show.
He gave ABC an ultimatum — transfer the show to the news division or the ban would remain.
After the ABC board announced that it would bow to Abbott’s demands, he gave his ministers permission to reappear on the show.
Pushed for 74,000ha forest logging
Freedom of Information documents revealed Abbott had pushed forward his attempt to delist 74,000 hectares of Tasmanian forest despite being cautioned by his own government ministers.
Environment minister Greg Hunt and agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce both wrote to Abbott requesting a review.
“We have come to the view that it would be appropriate to have a six-month review of the Tasmanian forestry package that would enable us to consult more broadly with a wide range of stakeholders on our election commitments,†their letter read.
The Wilderness Society and the Greens said Abbott’s captain call had globally humiliated Australia.
But the Abbott government argued that the forest had already been impacted by logging and devalued bordering wilderness areas.
Luckily for the people of Tasmania, the World Heritage Committee rejected Abbott’s application.
“Never increase taxes on superannuationâ€
Freedom of Information requests revealed that the decision to rule out increasing taxes on superannuation came directly from Abbott and was not from any policymaking process.
It was also revealed that the Liberal party had planned to make changes to superannuation taxes before Labor announced it as one of their policies.
They quickly changed angles, attempting to make Labor look like the main contributor of taxes in parliament.
“We have made a very clear decision that we aren’t ever going to increase the taxes on super,†Abbott said.
Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos called it a strategic decision from Abbott to make a point of differentiation from Labor by branding it as a high-taxing party.
“I think it’s really something that has come from the leadership,†Sinodinos said.
The National Reform Summit recommended Australia have a proper review of pension and superannuation taxes.
Hand-picked Dyson Heydon as royal commissioner
Opposition leader Bill Shorten blasted Abbott for picking Dyson Heydon to run the royal commission into trade union corruption.
It was discovered that Heydon was one of the Rhodes scholars that awarded Abbott his scholarship to Oxford University back in the 1980s.
Abbott said that it was “a long time ago†and labelled the idea that he cooked up a conspiracy against the Labor Party with Heydon 34 years ago as “absurdâ€.
Abbott came under more pressure after it was discovered that Heydon had been lined up to speak at a fundraiser for the Liberal party.
Labor pointed to both the fundraiser and the scholarship as proof of “political biasâ€.