SR,

For a few days I was naive enough to take you seriously. I take time to put down my thoughts and logic, and all you take away is one throw away comment. Really?

If this minuscule part of the Coalition's undeniably successful international efforts is the touch stone by which you judge its entirety, you have clearly prejudged the debate and are not allowing the merits to sway your opinion.

E.g.You keep on saying that the change in reference to "disputed" is not in our "interests" but completely fail to justify this as if it was self evident.

Considering that the real price of food traded in the world (upon which the Arab countries are heavily dependent) has real terms nearly doubled in the last decade. And given that the uprisings in the Arab spring was largely attributed to food price increases, the threat of a boycott of Australian agricultural products is so unlikely as to be laughable.

Secondly if by "diplomatic nuance" you mean the sycophantic dance that Rudd and Juliar made to Indonesia, Malaysia etc to achieve a "regional" solution and achieving nothing. Then yes I prefer a diplomacy that is more about honesty even if it offends a few despots.

SM,

"For a few days I was naive enough to take you seriously. I take time to put down my thoughts and logic, and all you take away is one throw away comment. Really?"

Lol!...any thoughts and logic were topped by this rather large cherry on the top:

"I don't really care, but if its sole reason is to wind up Lee Rhiannon, then I say go for it."

How's that for a throw away comment?

(Your lament above is a tad hypocritical methinks)

And...

"Then yes I prefer a diplomacy that is more about honesty..."

What a pearler. There goes Tony Abbott waffling to Obama about the fuel tax rise being a carbon price signal - and then has the temerity to tell the President he's a "conservationist".

How's that for honesty?

It's just as well there is diplomacy and courtesy in international relations, or Obama would have laughed in Abbott's face, taken him by the ear and thrown him out the door

SM,

I'll just add for your edification that you'll be thrilled to know that the LNP have vastly improved from the last Morgan poll (June 7-8) which had them 39.5% to Labor's 60.5% - two party preferred.

That was in the wake of the Turnbull leadership speculation.

They've now zoomed up to be 44.5% to Labor's 55.5% (June 14-15)

So Tony Abbott describes himself as a ''conservationist''. How bizarre, considering that only two weeks ago he told mining executives it's Australia's destiny to bring the affordable energy of coal to the world. And he has given the green light for the Abbot Point coal port on the Great Barrier Reef. He is slashing climate initiative after initiative: he plans to abolish the carbon tax, appointed a climate sceptic to review the renewable energy target, stopped promised subsidies for solar panels, and plans to close the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (closing a money-making initiative in what he claims is a budget emergency). Also, he doesn't talk of climate change as a threat. Indeed his ''plan for real action to reduce carbon emissions'' on the Liberal Party website doesn't even contain key words like ''climate'' and ''warming''. So, in describing himself as a conservationist, he is again calling black white, just as when he brazenly maintained his budget has not broken his election promises.
Surely he will never again be able to present himself as trustworthy.

Abbott’s only real concern is protecting Australia’s world-topping coal industry, whose expansion plans would make it utterly impossible to bring climate change under control.

You would think Abbott might have noticed this – his continent is located closer than almost anyone else’s to the Antarctic, where scientists last month offered definitive proof that melting glaciers have committed the planet to an extra three metres of sea level rise. But instead Abbott’s travelling the world to try to stop international efforts to combat global warming.

In Texas, he told his audience we must prevent the "ostracizing of any particular fuel", as if he were the global ambassador of coal, determined to prevent his favourite hydrocarbon from having to take a back seat to what his Treasurer recently referred to as "utterly offensive" wind turbines.

yea well I suppose the continued abbottphobia has taken the spotlight off the darling of the feminist who has shown to be tied up with grubby alp unionist. You would think that those who were shameful enough to vote for her would shut up but I suppose the abbottphobia has kept them blind and able to continue to demonstrate hatred to the one they were convinced of would never get elected.