Miranda Devine: Tony Abbott lovers call me the Wicked Witch of the Left

IN the tradition of “defending my legacy”, here are some of the reasons for conservative disillusionment with Abbott, writes Miranda Devine.

I AM a conservative pariah. I have been dis-invited to dinners and given the cold shoulder at conservative functions. Twitter followers once my most ardent fans abuse me as a “leftie”. I am accused of being either paid by or in “love” with Malcolm Turnbull.

Miranda Devine accused of being the Wicked Witch

Elder statesmen of the Delusional Conservative (Delcon) movement send me more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger missives accusing me of gross naïveté.

All because I have resisted the delusion that Tony Abbott was a conservative warrior cut down in his prime by leftie treachery, and that he will return to reclaim his throne once Malcolm Turnbull fails.

The Delcon movement is tiny but viciously punitive to those it regards as heretics. It was empowered last week by its first taste of blood; a Newspoll showed the Coalition falling behind Labor for the first time since Turnbull ousted Abbott as PM.

Of course, the collapse of Turnbull’s support is not among Coalition voters, but among Greens and Labor voters disappointed Turnbull has not turned out to be their progressive hero. The joke is on the Delcons, carrying water for the Left.

I was sorry Abbott was ousted and argued against it. But I was not surprised. After a 25-year association, my fondness for him softened criticism of his failings.

But since his demise I have been told by friends that he is going around town blaming me (and Janet Albrechtsen) for not being sufficiently supportive.

So here we go. In the tradition of “defending my legacy”, here are some of the reasons for conservative disillusionment with Abbott.

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott

1. Safe schools

Labor might have legislated the homosexual propaganda program for students, but it was the Abbott government which funded and launched it, in June 2014. Early last year Nationals senator Barry O’Sullivan raised concerns in the party room about the so-called anti-bullying program, wanting funding to be axed. Abbott, as prime minister, spoke in favour of the program, saying that times had changed. By then, problems with Safe Schools were abundantly clear. I had even written a column and front page story about the NSW version in October 2012.

2. Same sex marriage

Under pressure from his advisers to get the issue “off the table”, Abbott was preparing to allow a conscience vote before furious conservatives revolted. With numbers in the party room running more than two to one against changing the definition of marriage, Abbott was forced to promise a plebiscite.

3. Taxes

The deficit levy, a centrepiece of the first budget, was a hike in the top marginal rate of income tax to 49 per cent, from the PM who had promised no new taxes.

4. Spending

Before taking office, Abbott promised to match Labor’s unfunded multi-billion dollar promises on the NDIS, Gonski and health spending. He also promised no cuts to the ABC, which continued its cultural jihad during the Abbott years, a time of extreme austerity in media companies paying their own way. Paid Parental Leave (later dumped), a medical research fund, infrastructure projects, and the NBN were big new spending programs which contradicted the narrative of a government elected to fix a busted budget.

5. Climate change

The $3 billion Direct Action was another green scheme pretending to lower the global temperature. Abbott also pledged $200 million to the international Green Climate Fund.

6. Family tax benefit part B

Cutting help for single income families was seen by conservatives as a betrayal of traditional families, ­especially when childcare subsidies for double-income families were increased.

7. 18C

Abbott abandoned changes to section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act because he didn’t want to get offside with Muslims.

8. Islam

Abbott described the Lindt café siege as a “brush” with terrorism which had nothing to do with Islam. “The ISIL death cult has nothing to do with any religion, any real religion.” He changed his tune later.

9. Prince Phillip

There was nothing conservative about enlivening Australia’s dormant republicans by giving the Queen’s husband a knighthood. It crystallised disquiet about Abbott’s judgment.

10. Losing his job

Echoing the dysfunction of the Rudd-Gillard years, Abbott refused to heed warnings to take reasonable measures to save his prime ministership.

11. Defence force cuts

In wartime, pay and benefits of armed forces were cut.

12. Changing the constitution

Abbott infuriated conservatives with support for referendums to recognise indigenous Australians and local government in the constitution.

13. Natasha Stott-Despoja

One of the first acts of an Abbott government was to appoint the avowed leftist and former Democrats leader to a bogus job as Australia’s Global Ambassador for Women and Girls. Former union leader Greg Combet also was awarded a cushy post.

14. Cory Bernardi

Abbott exiled the most prominent conservative Liberal. Bernardi was forced to resign as Abbott’s parliamentary secretary over statements opposing same sex marriage. When Bernardi published his Conservative Manifesto, in defence of traditional families and Christian values, Abbott said his “views do not represent the position of the government”.

Today, Bernardi finds Turnbull more inclusive.

“The PM has been very receptive, he’s been very respectful about some of the views I’ve put to him and some of my colleagues have,” Bernardi said two weeks ago.

“We’ve had some … significant wins. The Safe schools coalition for example, when I raised that in the party room, the PM was among the very first people to recognise there was an issue here.”

Abbott was no conservative prime minister. I don’t know whether that was because he wasn’t a genuine conservative or because it was too hard to combat anti-conservative forces once he took office. Either way, appeasing the left cost him the support of the party room. No one is under any illusion about Turnbull’s ideological leanings, but so far he is not making the same mistake.