The leader of Australia’s Liberal Party, Tony Abbott, was sworn in as the country’s new prime minister on Wednesday. Abbott has for a long time been a rather controversial figure in Australian politics. The former boxer and devout Catholic – he briefly trained as a Priest, and has earned the nickname “Mad Monk” – is known for his tough stance on immigration and refugees, and conservative views on issues such as abortion and contraception.
Abbott promised during his campaign that his first act as the PM would be to scrap the carbon tax (i.e. tax on emissions that exceed a certain limit) introduced by the previous Labor government. The preparations to repeal the tax are now underway. Today, the newly-appointed Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, announced that the two official bodies researching and reporting on climate change - the Climate Commission and the Climate Change Authority – would be closed. The new government is also looking into abolishing the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, an independent body which finances clean energy projects. To replace the carbon tax, Abbott will install a “Direct Action Plan” that offers subsidies for businesses and farmers to reduce their emissions. The plan has been allocated $300 million – but no extra funding will be available if the “direct actions” do not meet the target emission reduction of 5%. Australia's chief scientist, Professor Ian Chubb, was deeply critical of the changes: "These sorts of issues are not going away just because we ignore them," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Moreover, the cabinet will no longer have a minister for science. Science will now belong to the portfolio of the Minister for Industry, Ian MacFarlane. This has caused further worries for Australian scientists, as MacFarlane is known for being a climate change sceptic. PM Abbott has also appointed Maurice Newman, who recently stated in an interview that human-made climate change was a myth, as the chair of his Business Advisory Council. Abbott’s own opinion on climate change is not known, but as the Liberal Party receives large donations from the fossil fuel and mining corporations, it wouldn’t be surprising if the prime minister puts today’s business interests ahead of future environmental concerns.
Tony Abbott’s new cabinet has been further criticised for its lack of women – the only woman out of 19 ministers is Julie Bishop, the Minister for foreign affairs. Abbott insists that his cabinet appointments are based on merit, not gender quotas. "Plainly, I am disappointed that there are not at least two women in the cabinet," Abbott said, continuing "Nevertheless there are some very good and talented women knocking on the door of the cabinet and there are lots of good and talented women knocking on the door of the ministry." The Labor Party has been quick to point out that Australia now has fewer female cabinet members than Afghanistan (3) and China (2).
Even if the PM really finds it disappointing that no other women made the cut, the male-dominated cabinet does little to change Abbott’s image as someone with “woman problems.” Julia Gillard, then Prime Minister, in a speech at the Parliament famously told Abbott to look in a mirror if he wanted to see what misogyny looks like, and went on to list remarks that Abbott had made, from questioning “whether it's a bad thing that men have more power than women, to explaining a new carbon pricing scheme with the words "what the housewives of Australia need to understand as they do the ironing." Abbott has also come under fire for rather sexist gaffes, such as suggesting that the unmarried PM Gillard should “make an honest woman out of herself” and calling abortion an “easy way out” for women. During his campaign, he tried to isolate himself from women-related controversies, but still stated - live on Big Brother out of all places) - that the housemates should vote for him because he is "the guy with the not bad-looking daughters".
Yesterday it was announced that in the new cabinet, “women’s policies and programs” will be the responsibility of Prime Minister Abbott (with assistance from West Australian senator Michaelia Cash).
Finally, today the Coalition government announced that it will “test legal grounds” for the same-sex marriage bill tabled by the government of Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The bill, which would allow same-sex partners to marry in the capital Canberra, received standing ovation in the state’s Parliament. It would not, however, force religious institutions to provide same-sex ceremonies. Katy Gallagher, the Chief Minister of ACT said that the introduction of the bill was “a proud moment for all of us.” The prime minister commented: "obviously the ACT is entitled to do what it wants within the law, within law, and the Attorney (General George Brandis) will be seeking legal advice on precisely how far the ACT can go on this.'' Abbott’s election counterpart Kevin Rudd had promised to legalise same-sex marriage if he were to become prime minister. Abbott has consistently opposed gay marriage, describing it as a “fashion of the moment.”
The victory of his Liberal-National coalition ended the tumultuous 6 year rule of the Labor Party. It has been suggested that in these elections, Australians voted out the old government, rather than rallied in support of the Liberals. Nevertheless, Tony Abbott’s actions on his first day in the office promise a more conservative future for Australia.
