From Quarterly Essay 48, 2012 (Correspondence re ‘Political Animal’ by George Brandis, pp82-3
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Tony has never been one to avoid controversy, and in Oxford it was no different. One escapade that attracted attention occurred in April 1982, during the Falklands War. There are few places in the world more opinionated than university towns, and Oxford is more opinionated than most. Naturally, there were ardent supporters and opponents of Mrs Thatcher’s decision to liberate the Falkland Islands from the Argentinian invasion. In response to a major anti-Thatcher demonstration in the centre of the town, Tony took it upon himself to organise a pro-Thatcher rally. The fact that this had been organised by an Australian did not go unremarked. And, of course, there was his legendary success in the boxing ring, when he won his Blue by flooring the Cambridge champion in an early round. This too contributed to his prestige and, if I recall correctly, was a pageone story in the local newspaper, the Oxford Times.
In his Oxford years, many of the elements of Tony’s complex personality were already on display. At one level, one saw the fearless controversialist who never backed away from an argument, and who indulged his Hemingwayesque taste in sports. But at a deeper level, a fascinating mind was being forged and a deep spirituality was being nurtured. I remember once when a few of us were engaged in that perennial late~night discussion among university students: what are you going to do when you graduate? Glittering careers in public life, academia or the professions were envisioned. When it was Tony’s turn, he said simply, “I’m going to be a priest.” Everybody laughed; we thought he was joking. His reputation was not of a person much given to piety. But he was adamant. That is what he had decided to do with his life.
Nobody feels more that the world is their oyster than someone graduating from one of the world’s great universities, and Tony Abbott, with the accomplishments of a Rhodes Scholarship, an Oxford degree and a Blue to his name, confident and popular, had the world absolutely at his feet. But he had decided, after long reflection, to turn away from worldly things and give himself to the religious life of service.
Although, after three years at St Patrick’s Manly Seminary, he eventually concluded that the celibate priestly life was not a discipline he could observe, the pastoral element has never left him. He remains devoted to the Jesuit ideal of a life lived for others as his annual pilgrimages to live and work among Aboriginal Australians (unpublicised for years), and his lifelong commitment to voluntary service organisations, such as the Rural Fire Brigade and the Surf Lifesaving movement, attest. David Marr’s conclusion, that for Abbott it has always been about power, could not be more wrong.
There is one particular memory of Tony Abbott at Oxford which sticks in my mind, as fresh as if it had happened yesterday, although it was thirty years ago. It was the summer vacation of 1982. I was heading off on a trip through Russia, and I knew that Tony had just been there. We ran into one another on the High Street one morning and chatted away. I remember saying how much I was looking forward to seeing the Hermitage Museum in Leningrad and various other cultural treasures. He looked at me sceptically. I asked him what he had thought of the Soviet Union. ”Mate,” came the reply, ”mate, it doesn’t have a single redeeming feature.”
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