Poirot,
Some of us have come to the realisation that the Mad Monk will say anything that he believes will suit his line of argument at the time, if its a lie, which often it is, so what! Don't forget Abbott is a devout Catholic, once holding an ambition to be "one of them" and going as far as starting the "training". A good Catholic knows he can get absolution for his sins simply by confessing to "one of them". In Abbott's case it would be a long 'Confession' requiring a penance of at least 3 'Hail Marys' to avoid eternal damnation.

Paul1405 - To quote you "Some of us have come to the realisation that the Mad Monk will say anything that he believes will suit his line of argument at the time, if its a lie, which often it is, so what!"

I believe this comment can be said to apply to any politician, not just Abbott.

Slightly overgeneralized but When is a politician telling a lie - when their mouth is open.

@Paul & co.

<<Some of us have come to the realisation that the Mad Monk will...>>

Wow! you mean to say you didn't previous hold that view--you've had a recent change of heart?

Coming from a Green who badmouthed Abbott since before he was elected that is hilarious ---and it shows the depths the Greens will stoop to misrepresent themselves.

This sort of stuff is pretty much what we got about the F111 when we ordered them.

Some of it was actually true, but with a bit of good old Ozzy ingenuity, we turned them into the most successful aircraft we have ever had.

Hell we have even managed to turn those dreadful Collins class subs into an almost useful weapon, although someone should be in prison for buying a sub design from the Swiss, who don't even have a sea coast. [Labor again]

Now it is a bit of a tradition of the Brits the Yanks & us of course, to go into a war with inferior equipment. You could ask anyone who looked at a Zero, from a Wirraway or Buffalo cockpit, if any actually survived. However I think that is changing a little.

One advantage in brushfire engagements like Iraq, or Israel is that the gear gets tested. So with luck & a little ingenuity, the E35s may prove to be OK