Elham Buaras
Tony Abbott has sparked accusations he is trying to “Trumpify” Australia after he insisted not all cultures are equal and urged the West to proclaim its superiority over Islam.
Writing in column for the Sydney Daily Telegraph on December 9, Abbott, urged the West to “be ready to proclaim the clear superiority of our culture to one that justifies killing people in the name of God.”
“We can’t remain in denial about the massive problem within Islam,” wrote the former Prime Minister who was ousted by Malcolm Turnbull in a Liberal Party election coup in September.
Labour opposition frontbencher Ed Husic slammed Abbott for his “effort to Trumpify Australian politics”, after US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump courted controversy by calling for Muslims to be barred from entering the country.
“What are these guys going on about, other than what I see as a broader effort to Trumpify Australian politics by bringing in the extreme elements of conservative discussion within the US political system to Australian shores?” asked Husic.
Abbott, who briefly trained as a priest before entering politics and was once dubbed the “Mad Monk”, added that Australians should stop being “apologetic about the values that have made our country as free, fair and prosperous as any on Earth.”
Labour Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten, called the remarks “entirely counterproductive”.
“Inflammatory language undermines efforts to build social cohesion, mutual respect and has the potential to harm the efforts of national security agencies to keep Australians safe,” he said in a statement.
