“It will require a few force, it will require massive logistics and expense; it will gnaw at our consciences”, Mr Abbott stated.
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At the black-tie gala banquet at London’s Guildhall, Mr Abbott laced his speech with praise for Mrs Thatcher, calling the former British prime minister “Mrs T” and saying she revived the “great” in Great Britain.
Delivering the Margaret Thatcher lecture in London, the former prime minister’s two central points were that Europe has been too soft in face of the refugee tide, and that the fight against Islamic State (IS) will need to be escalated if it is to be successful.
He urged European leaders to follow his example as Australian premier, when he stopped the boats coming to his country, turning them around before they reached the mainland.
“I’m not sure that Tony Abbott on a victory lap giving a Margaret Thatcher lecture is exactly what Europe needs to solve its problems”, he said.
“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”, Mr Abbott said. Malcolm Turnbull has, in three days, appointed a government scientist who believes in a zero fossil fuel society and released the $1.5 billion owed to Victorians for transport infrastructure-and held back by the Abbott government to punish them for voting against the East West link.
“No country or continent can open its borders to all comers without fundamentally weakening itself”, Abbott warned.
“This is the risk that the countries of Europe now run through misguided altruism”, Mr Abbott said, according to a copy of his speech.
The Australian experience proved “the only way to dissuade people seeking to come from afar is not to let them in”.
Do you think Tony Abbott should be telling other countries how to manage refugees? Accusing EU countries of “misguided altruism”, Abbott said European authorities should “turn boats around” and deny migrants entry at the border.
Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Pat Power, who headed the Catholic church in the Canberra-Goulburn diocese from 1986 until retiring in 2012, says he is “absolutely astounded” and “appalled” that Mr Abbott would use the Bible to preach his “narrow-minded” and “hard-hearted” message.
The lecture, given in Thatcher’s memory, accompanied a fundraising event for the Margaret Thatcher Centre, which aims to educate future generations about the United Kingdom leader’s life, values and achievements. Can Australia’s situation compare to Europe’s?
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“It betrays a complete lack of what the European is and what the member states can and cannot do, both legally but also in terms, of what their populations expect them to do”.
