Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. The contrast between the post-prime ministerial activities of adversaries Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott couldn’t be more stark (“ The lingering influence on Dutton ”, September 30). The former has been totally detached from politics and is pursuing loftier outside interests, while the latter is still mired in string-pulling, partisan machinations, seemingly unable to let go of just winning office for his side for its own sake.
I know whose overall standing and contribution to public life gets my respect, and if Peter Dutton’s focus mirrors Abbott’s, there’s nothing to recommend him for a stint in the top job either. Adrian Connelly, Springwood It would seem that if the powers that be in the Liberal Party are seriously taking the advice of Tony Abbott and Peta Credlin, then they are very slow learners. Not only was Abbott usurped by his own party after two years as prime minister, but his standing within the electorate was so poor that he lost his own seat of Warringah, which had been held by the Liberal Party and its predecessors since 1922.
Abbott has described the decision to go with nuclear power as a “watershed” in Australian politics, while one of the Liberals has said that Dutton is a good listener who ponders the evidence and makes a decision. However, in the case of nuclear power, all the evidence is to the contrary, so it appears Dutton is following Abbott down the.