Tony Abbott boasts of ‘stopping the boats’ at Margaret Thatcher Lecture

TONY Abbott has used his first major speech since being dumped to tell Europe exactly where it is going wrong.

The former Australian Prime Minister delivers at speech at the Margaret Thatcher Lecture at London's Guildhall, sitting to his left is Lord Archer a former chairmen of the Conservative Party. picture David Dyson

FORMER prime minister Tony Abbott has warned Europe risks making a “catastrophic error” with its readiness to take in desperate refugees from war torn countries.

As winter approaches and tens of thousands of migrants face freezing conditions and deadly boat journeys in their quest to reach safety, Mr Abbott — in his first major speech since his removal from office — has told a gathering in London the “love thy neighbour” attitude of most Western countries accepting refugees en mass was dangerous.

“All countries that say “anyone who gets here can stay here” are now in peril, given the scale of the population movements that are starting to be seen,” Mr Abbott told the audience of conservatives at a gala banquet to honour his political hero the late Margaret Thatcher.

“There are tens — perhaps hundreds — of millions of people, living in poverty and danger, who might readily seek to enter a Western country if the opportunity is there.

“Who could blame them? Yet no country or continent can open its borders to all comers without fundamentally weakening itself. This is the risk that the countries of Europe now run through misguided altruism.”

Much of his speech was dedicated to how he “stopped the boats” as prime minister and he encouraged Europeans to take a leaf out of Australia’s book by stopping people coming “for a better life.”

“Our moral obligation is to receive people fleeing for their lives. It’s not to provide permanent residency to anyone who would rather live in a prosperous Western country than their own. That’s why the countries of Europe, while absolutely obliged to support the countries neighbouring the Syrian conflict, are more than entitled to control their borders against those who are no longer fleeing a conflict but seeking a better life.

“This means turning boats around, for people coming by sea. It means denying entry at the border, for people with no legal right to come; and it means establishing camps for people who currently have nowhere to go.”

Mr Abbott tried to sure up his legacy as a Prime Minister who controlled our border.

“It’s now nearly 18 months since a single illegal boat has made it to Australia,” he boasted before going on to share his advice with the rest of the world.

“While prime minister, I was loathe to give public advice to other countries whose situations are different; but because people smuggling is a global problem, and because Australia is the only country which has successfully defeated it — twice — our experience should be studied,” he said.

Tony Abbott and his wife Margaret kindly paused for a photo for us.

Posted by The Margaret Thatcher Centre on Tuesday, October 27, 2015

He told the audience while some may be “disappointed” his own prime ministership ran so short, he was honoured to lead his country.

“Some may be disappointed that my own prime ministership lasted just two years since removing Labor from office,” he said.

“But to be the Queen’s first minister for even three months, is a damn fine thing.”

Mr Abbott justified “recent developments” in Australia’s political landscape as “hardly the eclipse of conservatism, rather than the ebb and flow of politics”.

Rattling off his usual list of achievements in government — stopping the boats, the repeal of the carbon tax and budget repair — Mr Abbott likened himself to the former conservative British prime minister the $500-a-head dinner was held in honour of.

He said the fact that he had been invited to speak at the prestigious event proved that there was “at least a hint of Thatcher in my government in Australia”.

Mr Abbott was joined by wife Margie at the black tie event.

Before the lecture the Abbotts got to fit in some sightseeing, with the former PM sharing a happy snap from the English countryside.

After England the trip will reroute to France where Mr Abbott will be joined by a group of former staffers, most notably former chief of staff Peta Credlin who is said to still be in daily contact with her old boss.

Enjoying Hadrian's Wall walk with Margie. pic.twitter.com/umnDCFPJ49

— Tony Abbott (@TonyAbbottMHR) October 26, 2015