- Tony Abbott standing by his leadership
- Paid Parental Leave scheme axed
- PM no longer in charge of Australia Day honours
- Read his address in full at the end of the article.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott says he is the best person to lead the government, saying he believes he has the full support of his deputy Julie Bishop.
In the midst of ongoing leadership speculation and the fallout from the knighting of Prince Philip, Mr Abbott used his National Press Club address to highlight previous successes such as axing the carbon tax and “stopping the boats”.
Addressing questions on leadership, he said he still had the confidence of the party room and pointed to the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd governments.
"We were elected in 2013 because the Australian people rejected chaos," he said.
"That's why we were elected, because the Australian people rejected chaos.
"And we are not going to take them back to that chaos."
Mr Abbott conceded the government had been through "a rough couple of months", addressing the ongoing speculation in his prepared speech.
“Standing up for Australian values is something I have done all my life,” he said,
“Leadership is about making the right decisions for our country’s future.
“It isn’t a popularity contest.”
Mr Abbott was also asked on speculation that Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was being urged to consider a move on the leadership, replying that Ms Bishop had been a "terrific deputy".
"I believe I have her full support," he said.
Ms Bishop was not in the audience for the address, nor was Malcolm Turnbull.
Their senior colleagues such Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss, Treasurer Joe Hockey, Scott Morrison and George Brandis were in the audience.
In response to opinion polls, Mr Abbott said he "never came into politics to be popular".
"The government has had a degree of difficulty over the last 12 months," he said.
"We did not simply accept that it could be business as usual in the budget. We did challenge the Senate to look at the long-term national interest and not simply to go out and consult the opinion polls.
"That's been a hard task, probably a more difficult task that any other Australian Government has had in recent times."
Mr Abbott spoke on the issue of the knighthood, saying that all future awards would not be decided by him.
He told media that "I probably overdid it on awards".
"All awards in the Order of Australia will henceforth be entirely a matter for the Order of Australia Council," he said.
He also took a question on if he would take an offered knighthood.
"I think it's highly unlikely that I'm likely to be offered any particular gong at this time," he said.
Paid Parental Leave scheme axed
Mr Abbott also officially axed his paid parental leave scheme, acknowledging the public backlash.
Mr Abbott had previously stated he would axe the controversial scheme, a move confirmed by Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Monday.
The scheme would have paid new mothers their full salary for six months, capped at an annual income of $100,000.
Addressing the National Press Club, Mr Abbott said he admired stay-at-home mums, “as Margie was when our children were young”, but change was needed.
“I accept, though, that what’s desirable is not always doable, especially when times are tough and budgets are tight,” he said.
“As the Productivity Commission has said, and as mums and dads around Australia have reminded me, the focus really does have to be on childcare if we want higher participation and a stronger economy.
“So a bigger parental leave scheme is off the table.”
He described the policy as a captain's pick, but "I have listened, I have learned and I have acted".
Mr Abbott said the government would instead focus on childcare, a move already criticised by Labor as "a desperate attempt to save his own leadership".
Shadow Minister for Families Jenny Macklin said Mr Abbott had "staked his leadership" on delivering the now-axed scheme.
"Three years ago, Tony Abbott said to the Australian people that as far as he was concerned 'it's an absolute signature policy'," she said.
"There was absolutely nothing announced today about child care, just a few words. Nothing at all that any family can rely on.
"What families do know is that Tony Abbott has broken the promise to introduce a paid parental leave scheme that he said was his signature policy and Tony Abbott has refused to reverse the huge cuts to families that were in his first budget."
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten joined Ms Macklin, describing Mr Abbott's address as a "desperate speech from a politically drowning man aimed at pleasing his MPs".
"He said you could trust Tony Abbott to back in this paid parental leave scheme," he said.
"Tony Abbott hasn't changed his mind, he's just desperate to keep his job."
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has also called for further detail on the Prime Minister's childcare announcement.
"Parents need certainty and that means the government has to commit to maintaining the current quality standards and increasing funding to keep care affordable," she said in a statement.
“With no direct commitment to injecting more funding, the Prime Minister must clarify whether his 1.5 per cent levy on big business will be used to fund childcare."
In his address, Mr Abbott also ruled out changes to the GST, unless there was consensus among state and territory governments.
Further security crackdowns foreshadowed
Mr Abbott spoke on security measures, saying that Australians were sick of people “making excuses for Islamist fanatics”.
He foreshadowed further legislation, following the government’s boosts to police and security agencies.
“If cracking down on Hizb-ut-Tahrir and others who nurture extremism in our suburbs means further legislation, we will bring it on and I will demand that the Labor Party call it for Australia,” he said.
“The police and the security agencies have told me that they need access to telecommunications data to deal with a range of crime, from child abuse to terrorism, and – as far as I am concerned – they should always have the laws, money and support they need to keep Australia safe.”
Mr Abbott also addressed cuts to public broadcasters, conceding his promise to the ABC and SBS was “a commitment that we weren't able to keep”.
“The situation that we thought we were facing at the time of the election turned out to be different,” he said.
“When you are having to ask some sacrifices of the Australian people, how in good conscience could we not have had a look at the ABC?
“It's a commitment that we weren't able to keep but I think the Australian public understand that.”
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