Nick Efstathiadis

By Charlotte Meredith Posted: 07/09/2013 The Huffington Post UK

tony abbott australia quotes prime minister

Tony Abbott, Australia's opposition leader, adjusts his earpiece before a television interview outside the polling station at the Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013. Australian voters are heading to eject the Labor party after six years in power, with opinion polls showing they will put Abbott's Liberal-National coalition in charge of the $1.5 trillion economy. Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg via Getty Images

SEE ALSO: 10 pictures of Tony Abbott in eye-wateringly tight sportswear with appropriately sarcastic commentary

Tony Abbott has enjoyed a landslide victory at the Australian Federal Election, but some of his rather outspoken views have raised eyebrows and sparked concerns.

Here, we researched some of the new prime minister's most memorable quotes produced over the years:

  • “Abortion is the easy way out. It’s hardly surprising that people should choose the most convenient exit from awkward situations.” March 17th, 2004
  • “While I think men and women are equal, they are also different and I think it's inevitable and I don't think it's a bad thing at all that we always have, say, more women doing things like physiotherapy and an enormous number of women simply doing housework.” 2010
  • “The problem with the Australian practice of abortion is that an objectively grave matter has been reduced to a question of the mother’s convenience.” March 17th 2004
  • “We just can’t stop people from being homeless if that’s their choice.” February 11th, 2010
  • “Jesus knew that there was a place for everything and it’s not necessarily everyone’s place to come to Australia.” April 5th, 2010
  • “Why isn’t the fact that 100,000 women choose to end their pregnancies regarded as a national tragedy approaching the scale, say, of Aboriginal life expectancy being 20 years less than that of the general community?” March 17th, 2004
  • “What the housewives of Australia need to understand as they do the ironing is that if they get it done commercially it’s going to go up in price and their own power bills when they switch the iron on are going to go up.” February 8th, 2010
  • “The climate change argument is absolute crap, however the politics are tough for us because 80 per cent of people believe climate change is a real and present danger.” February 2nd, 2010
  • “I won't be rushing out to get my daughters vaccinated [for cervical cancer], maybe that's because I'm a cruel, callow, callous, heartless bastard but, look, I won't be.” November 9th, 2006
  • “I would say to my daughters if they were to ask me this question... [their virginity] is the greatest gift that you can give someone, the ultimate gift of giving and don't give it to someone lightly, that's what I would say.” January 27th “The problem with the Australian practice of abortion is that an objectively grave matter has been reduced to a question of the mother’s convenience.” 2010


Tony Abbott: Top Ten Quotes From Australia's New Prime Minister

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