also here link to history of weird antics by aus PMs
Australian Prime Ministers
"Let no-one say the past is dead, the past is all about us and within"(Oodgeroo)
Australia's prime ministers have been quite an eclectic bunch. They have suffered from an assortment of physical deformities, uttered some "colourful" phrases, and on the sly, shown that they have somewhat of liking for debauched behaviour.
Traditionally, the Australian media has refrained from reporting on a prime minister's private life. The general etiquette has been that if he or she has passed good policy, then their private life should be irrelevant. It is debateable as to whether this should be the case. Many voters don't allocate their vote on the basis of a proposed policy; they allocate their vote on the basis of their values and how well the perceived values of the leader of the major parties reflects their values. For this reason, it is worth knowing what values a prime minister has lived by in his or her personal lives, as well as the policies he or she implemented to regulate the affairs of Australian society.
http://www.convictcreations.com/history/primemine.htm
Tony Abbott (Liberal Party of Australia ) 18th September 2013 to present
Born England
to an Australian mother and an English-born father.
Migrated to Australia at the age of 3.
A student boxer who earned two blues while boxing for Oxford.
Organized protests in favour of the Falklands War.
During his student days, he once saved a child who was swept out to sea. Another time, he helped save children from a burning house next to a pub where he was drinking.
When he was 19, his girlfriend became pregnant and claimed Abbott to be the biological father. The couple did not marry and put the child up for adoption. For 27 years, Abbott believed that he fathered a boy. When the boy grew up, he sought out his biological parents and believed Abbott was his father. After the story was reported around the world, a former secret lover of Abbott’s former girlfriend thought the boy looked like his own son. DNA testing later revealed that Abbott was not the father.
A student newspaper editor took him to court for indecent assault after he touched her during a student debate. The charges against him were dismissed in court.
Aged 26, he studied to become a catholic priest.
As a Parliamentary Secretary, he oversaw the establishment of the Green Corps program which involved young people in environmental restoration work.
Challenged for the leadership of the Liberal Party on a platform of opposing an ETS scheme.
As prime minister, gave a knighthood to Prince Phillip (The Queen's husband.)
While opposition leader, was called a misogynist by then Prime Minister Julia Gillard. After becoming prime minister, said the criticisms of his chief of staff (a woman) were motivated by sexism.
Said he was going to "shirt front" Vladimir Putin.
Julia Gillard (Labor Party of Australia ) 24th June 2010 to 27 June 2013
Born in Wales
. As a baby she contracted a severe lung infection and spent weeks in a oxygen tent in hospital, prompting her parents to migrate to the warmer climate of Australia
Former secretary of Socialist Forum
Lobbied for the scrapping of the ANZUS treaty
Had a two-year relationship with fellow Minister Craig Emerson, who was married with three children at the time
While working as a lawyer, had an affair with one of her clients, an allegedly corrupt union official, and set up bank accounts that helped him laundry money, some of which may have been spent on the renovations of her house. When exposed, her firm accepted her resignation and she spent 6 months unemployed
A royal commision into corruption responded to her demands to be trusted due to her "good character" responded by finding, “A further problem raised by the submission is that though there is virtually no evidence of Julia Gillard’s good reputation and character beyond that which is to be inferred from her status as a former prime minister"
First female prime minister
A proud athiest
Only unmarried prime minister
Attacked the Greens for not having family values
Opposed paid parental leave
Said she didn't believe in gay marriage and that mariage should be between a man and a woman
Said women "do not think the same way as men"
Said that women in marriage are like prostitutes
Stood behind MP Craig Thomson who had been found to have misused up to $500,000 of union funds on expenses such as prostitutes
Gave her boyfriend, a hairdresser, a job as health ambassadorSaid, " I’m just going to be upfront about this: foreign policy is not my passion"
In May 2010, said, "There's more chance of me becoming the full-forward for the Dogs (Western Bulldogs AFL team) than there is any chance of a change in the Labor party."
In June 2010, challenged for the leadership of the Labor Party and won
Vowed not to introduce a carbon tax before her maiden election. After forming a coalition with the Greens MP, introduced a carbon tax
A member of her staff collaborated with a union official and media to incite a racial protest against the leader of the opposition. The plan backfired when Aborigines turned on her
After leading the Labor Party in a disastrous election, claimed her predecessor had s