Tony Abbott has proven himself of late to be no more than an old guard of the previous Howard administration…the focus of his political approach has been on the nuclear family, fear-mongering/dog whistle politics, slashing debt at any cost, supporting mining corporations, trickily undermining the progress of real climate change legislation …and in demonstrating a determination to turn the clock back on IR (industrial relations) reforms to benefit the bosses at the expense of the worker.

I thought the following quotes from a Lateline interview with Barrie Cassidy in 2001 might provide further insight into the “real” Tony Abbott…rather than the occasional “phony” compassionate conservative we get these days:

BARRIE CASSIDY: What will be the top priority in terms of further industrial relations reform?

TONY ABBOTT: The top priority will be to once more attempt to take the unfair dismissal monkey off the back of small business, to eliminate the possibility of a $500 a year union tax on 6 million non-union members, and to try to ensure that it's impossible to take protected strike action without a secret ballot first. So they're the three priorities that we'll be proceeding with very urgently once Parliament goes back.

TONY ABBOTT: I've always had the view that it's better to take what you can get and come back for more later but the challenge for the ALP will be to give us anything at all and in the last Parliament it was almost impossible to get any progress whatsoever out of the ALP on industrial relations.

BARRIE CASSIDY: A week ago when your name was mentioned as a possible leader of Government business in the house you said that there were a lot more talented people around for the job. Why were they overlooked?

TONY ABBOTT: I guess Phillip Ruddock, for instance, has a very big portfolio. Alexander Downer - he's perhaps out of the country too much. I think I've got a big challenge here and just at the moment I'm very conscious of just how big a challenge it is. But I'll do my best to meet the challenge.

BARRIE CASSIDY: In yesterday's 'Sydney Morning Herald' Michelle Grattan wrote that replacing Peter Reith with Tony Abbott is simply replacing one bother boy with another.

TONY ABBOTT: Peter Reith certainly was a very tough minister. He knew what he was doing and he did it well. If I can be like Peter Reith in that respect I'll be very happy.

 I Haven't failed to notice that Phillip Ruddock & Alexander Downer have crept back out of the shadows to eagerly support Tony Abbott on his latest “dog barking” policy announcements on refugees.

Plus ca change, plus ce la meme chose….The more things change, the more they stay the same.

N’