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In 2014 the Coalition government announced a 320 million dollar package for drought-hit farmers. In describing this initiative as a 'hand-up' not a 'hand out' Prime Minister Tony Abbott encapsulated more than 150 years of tension over whether government drought response should be unconditional limited relief or conditional longer-term assistance. This paper considers the long history of drought assistance in Australia as seen through government legislation, year books, newspapers and personal papers. It argues that despite changing political and social circumstances, contradictions in the approach to government drought response, as well as in public and personal reactions to those policies, have remained remarkably consistent. We further suggest that lack of consensus over the inherent nature of drought is not sufficient to explain the dilemma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article aims to analyze the metaphoric constructions from the series of destructive gender wars instigated by Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard against the alleged misogynistic and sexist opinions and behaviors of his opponent, Tony Abbott. Topics include the importance of metaphors in politics and media communication, a study focused on gender war metaphors during Gillard's incumbency, and the context of the gender wars in Australia in its political and discursive context.

During the two years of his prime ministership, Tony Abbot's immigration rhetoric had a constant refrain of 'stop the boats'. From his public utterances it is not clear that Mr Abbott has any firm and unchanging views on economic immigration provided that the immigrants arrive by plane. For his two-year incumbency, this paper reviews the areas of immigration numbers; 457 and other temporary visas; refugees and asylum seekers; and trends in the views of the Australian public on immigration. It also examines some of the claimed economic impacts of immigration and the role of free trade agreements in deregulating in-flows as well as the immigration reports of the Productivity Commission. Finally, it scrutinises Abbott's changing views on multiculturalism contrasting them with those of his successor Malcolm Turnbull. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tony Abbott was not the first leader to undermine Australian democracy. A process of erosion has been going on for some time, sharply accelerated by the conspiracy surrounding the government's dismissal in 1975, and propelled by John Howard's protracted contempt for the people, especially over the war in Iraq and in his determination to silence dissent, humiliating critics with ad hominem abuse. Abbott acknowledged Howard as a significant mentor, and strove to outdo his exemplar in arousing fear in the community, treating the population as gullible and manipulable, such as with the condescending rhetoric over the 2014 budget, reducing policy to three-word slogans and stifling public discussion. His asylum-seeker aggression, shrouded in official secrecy, flouted international law and showed contempt for the Australian people. If democracy means anything, at its centre is respect for the people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protecting Australia from an 'invasion' of irregular maritime migrants was one of the key policy objectives of Tony Abbott's government from September 2013 to September 2015. Restricted to this specific period, this article compares Australia's approaches to irregular maritime migration with the actions taken by the European Union (EU). By mirroring the journey of maritime migrants, the comparative analysis is structured around the 'departure' place, the 'transit' at sea, and the 'arrival'. Under Abbott, Australia cut humanitarian aid to source and transit countries, intensified military deterrence against maritime migrants and sustained punitive offshore detention camps. Despite problematic factors for the EU such as the proximity of conflict zones, the sheer numbers of refugees, and the vexed issue of burden-sharing between member-states, it advocated a humanitarian approach to the migration crisis. By providing a stark contrast between Australian and EU approaches to a humanitarian crisis, this article contends that the Abbott Government took exceptionally cruel measures to curtail the flow of people travelling to Australia by boat to seek refuge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tony Abbott's Coalition government gained notoriety for taking a wrecking ball to Australia's policies on climate change. In a world first, Australia dismantled a fledgling carbon pricing scheme and downgraded an effective renewable energy target. The Department of Climate Change and the Climate Commission were axed while key agencies researching climate science such as CSIRO had funds and staffing decimated. Environmental non-government organisations came under siege in terms of reputation, legal rights and funding status. The renewable energy industry was further undermined as federal funding bodies were threatened with extinction. Conversely, the fossil fuel industry was rewarded with removal of the carbon price and resource super profit tax as well as continuation of generous subsidies. Another mega coal mine was approved. These policies ran counter to the clarion call for action on climate change by national and international experts in science, economics and security. They forecast Australia would pay a heavy price even with two degrees of warming; a level the world is set to surpass with minimalist emission reduction targets akin to those of the Abbott Government. The Coalition's conduct in this domain was motivated by climate scepticism, cynical wedge politics, a traditional 'quarry' view of prosperity, and narrow conceptions of national interest privileging a powerful section of corporate Australia, namely the fossil fuel industry. Despite a promising change in tone, climate policy settings barely changed after Malcolm Turnbull took power in 2015. Australia trails the pack of comparable countries in climate action and pledges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the Abbott Government's defence policies to determine whether Prime Minister Abbott was on a path to maintain the defence of the realm on the basis of a suitably diligent approach to strategy and capability development, and a suitably cautious approach to the use of military force. It finds little to admire. The Abbott Government failed to heed the published counsel of former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser that there were important issues to be addressed in relation to the ANZUS Alliance and in particular the Joint Facilities at Pine Gap, and imposed upon the Department of Defence yet another review and reform program. As an exemplar of capability development the paper examines the approach to the replacement of the Collins Class submarines and highlights several deficiencies. It also finds that the Abbott Government had an incautious approach to the use of military force but acknowledges that Mr Abbott was dissuaded from pursuing wild ideas like the unilateral insertion of Special Forces into Iraq or the insertion of a battalion into the Russian-backed rebel controlled area of Ukraine to recover the bodies of MH17 by force. On the basis of this review it identifies issues that require the attention of the Government that finds itself in place after 2 July 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tony Abbott's time as the Prime Minister of Australia was as controversial as it was short, with contrasting characterisations of his approach to fiscal policy abounding - a necessary program of cuts in response to the 'budget emergency'; a pseudo-Keynesian stimulatory second budget; claims that Abbott was a 'neoliberal'; and the overarching public response which argued that his policies were simply 'unfair'. Each of these characterisations is inaccurate or incomplete in some measure. Whilst there is little doubt that the 'budget emergency' was largely imagined, it was used to justify wide-ranging cuts to welfare provision. The logic of these cuts was contradicted, however, through profligate expenditures in other areas, such as corporate welfare, regressive tax breaks, and increases to defence spending. The paradoxical logic of cutting with one hand and spending with the other can only be understood through the lens of 'neoliberalism' - that is, if 'neoliberalism' is understood as a state-led project defined by a certain distributional outcome, rather than the 'free market' caricature used by many scholars and critics. This materially grounded analysis also provides a framework for us to consider the question, 'will Turnbull represent a break from hegemonic neoliberalism?' The answer, it would seem, is surely 'no'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On taking office in late 2013, the incoming Abbott government proclaimed the advent of a new aid paradigm. This article asks whether or not this is the case. It does so by situating the new coalition policy in the context of more than two decades of development thinking. Focusing on the way Australian aid policy reflects trends in both global development and geopolitical discourses, the article parses out continuity and change. It finds that Australia's new aid paradigm is in fact largely the old aid paradigm reincarnate, with aid policy continuing to follow the well-established parameters outlined over decades of global thinking and practice that emphasise the significance of private-sector-led economic growth. However, while the overarching paradigm remains relatively intact, incremental change is also apparent, including alterations to the geographic focus, level and administration of the program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the Australian foreign policy from January-June 2015. Topics discussed include the decision of coalition government led by Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced that it would support the U.S. in its fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the accusation made by former United Nations (UN) Kofi Annan against Australia of withdrawing from the community of nations prior to the Paris Climate Conference in December 2015.

This article discusses the policies of the Australian government during the period from July to December 2014. The author comments on the leadership style of Prime Minister Tony Abbott and describes the negative public opinion surrounding his administration. The current political and economic conditions of several Australian regions, including New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland, are also examined.

This article discusses the foreign policy of the Australian government under Prime Minister Tony Abbott during the period from July to December 2014. The author comments on the differences between the foreign policy between the Abbott administration and the previous Labor party government. He also considers the strategies related to Australian national security as well as its membership in the United Nations.

The Abbott Coalition government, elected to office in Australia in September 2013, has not had a major focus on the developing world. Nevertheless, in terms of substance this government has been engaged with a number of issues that relate to, or have implications for, the developing world. At a general level these issues concern development cooperation, refugees and asylum seekers, and climate change. At a regional level Australia has had particular concerns relating to Indonesia and the Pacific island countries; there has also been some focus on India and Indian Ocean regionalism. Beyond Australia’s immediate region there has been engagement in some issues relating to Southwest Asia and the Middle East, and Africa. The government’s approach to issues concerning the developing world reflects its pragmatism based on a perception of Australian interests and an identification with the countries of the developed world as led by the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This essay reviews different notions about and approaches to nationalism in Australia in the year 2014 as seen through media commentary generated by the incumbent conservative Coalition government's declaration of new anti-terror initiatives (September-October 2014) and Prime Minister Tony Abbott's use of the metaphor 'Team Australia'. The aim is to shed light on divergent understandings of the place of nationalism in contemporary Australian politics and society. Nationalism can be both a means of engendering electoral and political affiliation and a more diffuse sentiment that pervades broader community ties in ways that go beyond mediated mobilisation. Multiculturalism as a trope, construct and category of political analysis serves as a useful context within which competing claims of national identity and nationalism may be examined. Multiculturalism is a well-embedded notion in Australia. However, continuing conflicts and international events constantly re-inflect understandings of nationalism and national unity against the backdrop of Australian multiculturalism. This essay surveys approaches to Abbott's declarations and poses queries for future research on discourse and nationalism in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prime Minister Julia Gillard released the 'Australia in the Asian Century' White Paper in October 2012, describing it as 'a roadmap showing how Australia can be a winner in the Asian Century'. This article provides a review of Australia's progress on engagement with Asia 2 years after the White Paper. It covers the political and performance status of key Asia- related initiatives following the election of the Abbott government. It finds a high level of continuity and support for individual policies and objectives in the White Paper. However, there have been some significant changes in policy, emphasis and approach and emerging areas of underperformance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leadership change formed the backdrop to the 2010 Australian federal election, with the replacement of Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister by Julia Gillard, the country's first female Prime Minister. This article uses the 2010 Australian Election Study to examine patterns of voter defection between the 2007 and 2010 elections. The results show that the predominant influence on defection was how voters rated the leaders. Julia Gillard was popular among female voters and her overall impact on the vote was slightly greater than that of Tony Abbott. Defectors from Labor to the Greens disapproved of Kevin Rudd's dismissal from office. Policy issues were second in importance after leadership, particularly for those moving from the Coalition to Labor, who were concerned about health and unemployment. Overall, the results point to the enduring importance of leaders as the predominant influence on how voters cast their ballot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Australian politics and government from July to December 2010. It examines the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who succeeded Kevin Rudd in 2010. The authors examine the results of the 2010 general election and Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott. The article also surveys politics in all Australian states and territories, including Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland. Topics discussed include health care, budgets, and public transportation.

The article focuses on the political activities and events of several public officials in Australia. It mentions the victory attained by Honorable Julia Gillard and attained the position as Prime Minister in the country replacing former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. However, it cites the negative comment of Honorable Tony Abbott regarding Rudd's departure from his seat. The taxation and climate change issues in the country are also mentioned.