Alice Thompson vows to defeat ‘out of touch’ Tony Abbott

A former Malcolm Turnbull staffer who will stand against Tony Abbott has branded the sitting Warringah MP as a destructive influence who is out of touch with his electorate.

Alice Thompson said she will be judged on her policies. Picture: Troy Snook

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A former Malcolm Turnbull staffer who will stand against Tony Abbott has branded the sitting Warringah MP as a destructive influence who is out of touch with his electorate.

Alice Thompson said she had the opportunity to stand in Mackellar against Jason Falinski — where she lives — but instead chose to turn her attention south in an attempt to remove Abbott.

“He is symbolic of our nation. He’s holding us back,” Ms Thompson said citing his “out of touch” views on matters such as climate change and same sex marriage.

“I look back at 10 years: We’ve had seven prime ministers and, over both Labor and Liberal, Tony has been implicated in all of that.

Alice Thompson pictured at Manly Beach. Picture: Troy Snook

He’s part of the problem with our democracy … I think that will keep happening if Tony stays in power and continues to undermine from the back bench.”

Referencing the coup to remove her former boss she said: “I know in all of my jobs there’s no way that I could have been paid to snipe and undermine the CEO on taxpayers’ time.”

Ms Thompson worked for Mr Turnbull for two years but denied her standing was a revenge mission.

She said Mr Abbott was out of touch with the electorate on a range of issues, principally same sex marriage and climate change.

“He cost a lot both in terms of taxpayer money as well as emotions of the gay and lesbian community,” she said. “I don’t care what people do in their bedrooms and I hope people don’t care what I do in mine.”

She said Tony Abbott has spent too long being disruptive from the backbenchers. Picture Kym Smith

On climate change she described Mr Abbott as an outlier and said the country was not doing enough to prevent dangerous levels of global warming.

Transport and infrastructure feature prominently in her campaign.

She is in favour of the Beaches Link but warned their must be proper planning to ensure it delivers.

She wants more public transport, a rapid bus link between Dee Why and Chatswood, investment in footpaths and more segregated cycle lanes.

She has pledged to get the upgrade of Brookvale Oval moving, wants to ban single use plastic bags, will push for a university campus on the northern beaches and wants a “fairer tax system”.

She has pledged to get the Brookvale redevelopment moving

On criticism that she doesn’t live in the electorate (she lives in Elanora Heights) she said she would be judged on her policies.

“I am in the electorate every day. I share the roads, I share the pain on the roads and on public transport. Look it’s a couple of suburbs away so you are really splitting hairs.”

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