Most of the people who are coming to Australia by boat have passed through several countries on the way, and if they simply wanted asylum they could have claimed that in any of the countries through which they'd passed. Tony Abbott asylumaustraliaboat share on social
What I would like to see is sufficiently good education and health services being delivered to Aboriginal people so that they are prepared and ready to leave and join the economic mainstream if that's their choice. Tony Abbott aboriginalchoicedeliver share on social
I'm not saying that people on welfare don't contribute in their own way, but as many as possible should be encouraged to be economically active as well as socially and culturally active. Tony Abbott activecontributeculturally Change image and share on social
I am in favour of the notion of Australia as an immigrant society. Tony Abbott australiafavourimmigrant Change image and share on social
The problem with politicians getting to know the issues in indigenous townships is that we tend to suffer from what Aboriginal people call the 'seagull syndrome' - we fly in, scratch around and fly out. Tony Abbott aboriginalcallfly share on social
I see myself as a social conservative, but I think that there are lots of social institutions that produce beneficial reforms, like public hospitals, for instance, and schools. Tony Abbott beneficialconservativehospital Change image and share on social
It's very easy for Australians living in big cities to either romanticise or demonise the situation in Aboriginal places - to kind of look at things through the 'noble innocents' prism or through the 'chronically dysfunctional' prism, and I suspect that is so often the case. Tony Abbott aboriginalaustralianbig share on social
I think that people should come to Australia through the front door, not through the back door. If people want a migration outcome, they should go through the migration channels. Tony Abbott australiabackchannel Change image and share on social
For small business people, less paperwork means higher profits, boosted sales and more time with the family. Tony Abbott boostbusinessfamily Change image and share on social
I try to treat people as people and not put them in pigeonholes. Tony Abbott peoplepigeonholeput Change image and share on social
