Politics

Kevin Rudd: ‘Toxic Tony Abbott is wrecking ball of Aussie politics’

Aug 27, 2018

Kevin Rudd has slammed Toy Abbott's politics. Source: Getty.

Kevin Rudd has launched an extraordinary verbal attack on Tony Abbott, claiming he has wrecked Australian politics by focusing more on destroying his opponents than introducing new and effective policies.

In an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald, former PM Rudd, 60, also took aim at media giant Rupert Murdoch, branding him “the greatest cancer on the Australian democracy”.

Recalling Abbott’s time in power, Rudd claimed that his former political rival, 60, had helped contribute to the “vicious, toxic and unstable” state of politics today, eventually leading to the controversial leadership spill last week.

“Abbott has never cared about policy. He has only cared about politics and winning at any cost. I cannot remember a single positive policy initiative that Abbott has championed and then implemented,” he wrote for the news outlet.

“The entire energy of this giant wrecking ball of Australian policies has been focused on destroying his opponents within the Labor party and the Liberal party.”

Claiming Abbott had proven destructive in the past, Rudd went on to warn Aussies not to underestimate his negativity and toxicity.

He then moved his aim to Murdoch, who he claimed has become his own political party – manipulating all politicians from above through his empire of newspapers right across not only Australia, but the world.

Rudd claimed Murdoch – who owns the majority of print media in Australia – not only contributed to Brexit in the UK through his right-wing papers, but also helped enable Trump’s takeover in the US, while pushing for tax-cuts for the wealthy in Australia.

While Rudd admitted less people are reading print media now, he claimed online outlets are ‘ripping’ Murdoch’s stories nonetheless – setting the same news agenda. Describing Murdoch as a “political bully and a thug”, Rudd even claimed Aussie politicians have become so scared of him, they’re too fearful to take him on.

He’s now called for the Labor party, should they get into power in the next election, to consider a royal commission into the future of Australian media ownership.

It comes after former PM Malcolm Turnbull slammed “wreckers” he believes have plotted to end his prime ministership over the last few weeks. While he didn’t name any names, there have been claims he was referring to not only immigration minister Peter Dutton, but also ex leader Abbott.

“There was a determined insurgency from a number of people both in the party room and backed by voices, powerful voices, in the media, to bring down, not bring down the government, but bring down my prime ministership,” he said in his final press conference as PM. “It was extraordinary. It was described as madness by many, and I think it’s difficult to describe it in any other way.”