Headbutt reaction highlights mess our society is in

IF we can’t take the word of a former prime minister over a c-bomb dropping hater, then we’ve lost a lot of what once made this country great, writes Peta Credlin.

Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. (Pic: AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

A THUG headbutts a former prime minister on a street in broad daylight and most ordinary people agree that sort of behaviour has no place in Australia.

Not so the press gallery, who raced around trying to second guess Tony Abbott’s belief that the attack was related to his recent support for the “No” campaign in the same-sex marriage debate.

I don’t think it was unreasonable for Abbott to conclude that an individual wearing a “Yes” badge, who attacked him in an expletive-ridden rant, was opposed to his SSM stance.

What, he didn’t like the former PM’s questioning of renewable energy? He was opposed to Abbott’s plan to bring down the cost of electricity?

The 38-year-old Hobart DJ Astro “Funknukl” Labe charged with assaulting Abbott denied on Friday that his attack was SSM-related.

Astro Labe, 38, of North Hobart, is accused of assaulting former Prime Minister Tony Abbott. (Pic: Sam Rosewarne)

There’s nothing surprising there — after all, that’s the line the gallery types had been running all day. But when Labe declared his motivation was nothing more than “personal hatred”, the fact that the left merely breathed a sigh of relief — “well, that’s OK then” — just highlights the mess our society is in.

Imagine if Abbott, a former champion boxer, had defended himself? It would have read “former PM attacks same-sex marriage supporter” regardless of the facts.

Read Funknukl’s Facebook rants and be your own judge.

If we can’t take the word of a former prime minister against a c-word-using hater and self-described anarchist, then we really have lost a lot of what once made this country great.