Tony Abbott is an old fashioned Aussie bloke doesn’t say sorry and is never wrong. Saying sorry is an admission of weakness and Tony Abbott isn’t weak.
This Monday he dug his heels in after Indonesia recalled their Ambassador to Australia because of spying allegations that we’re being reported in the media. In a statement to Parliament he said.
“Australia should not be expected to apologise for the steps we take to protect our country now or in the past, any more than other governments should be expected to apologise for the similar steps that they have taken.”
Aussie men should not be expected to say sorry, in any circumstances.
Predictably Indonesia reacted with outrage and said they would no longer be cooperating in military exercises or assisting with Asylum Seeker operations. For the President, Dr Yudhoyono it was about trust. He said.,
“How can we do all this if we are not sure that there is no tapping of our military, which is working for the interests of the two countries?”
Suddenly Tony Abbott’s toys we’re being taken from him. In a stunning reversal Abbott, having connected the trust and cooperation dots, came out and said:
”I want to express here in this chamber my deep and sincere regret about the embarrassment to the President and to Indonesia that’s been caused by recent media reporting.”
What’s important to note here is that Abbott expressed regret for embarrassment not regret for the actions of Australian officials spying on the President and his wife.
Real Aussie men don’t apologise, they hedge their bets and do their best not to look wrong, because real Aussie men are never wrong.
This is leadership of the worst kind and I suspect that in the light of LNP Pollster Mark Textor’s racist tweets that at the core of this issue is a neo-colonial view that the dark people to the North should feel privileged to be helping Australia prevent more darker skinned people illegally come to our borders, because, well, bombs and other stuff. Consider how different the outcome would be if the UK or a European country had complained.
Australia deserves better leadership than this.