“The rhythm of life is always better on the beach, isn’t it?” mused Tony Abbott.
The opposition leader voted early on a glorious Saturday spring morning at the Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club, with wife Margie and daughters Bridget, Frances and Louise joining him in the heart of his electorate on Sydney’s northern beaches.
“Good luck Tony,” voters called out as the MP for Warringah mingled and posed for photographs.
“Come for a run with us,” one man almost demanded, after Mr Abbott had finished one of his many television interviews.
“It’s too late to go for a run,” he joked.
“Gee whiz, the sun’s up.”
After meeting Mr Abbott, 66-year-old Audrey Pattison described the opposition leader as a “lovely man”.
Will he be a good prime minister? “Absolutely. He’s such a nice man.”
But the visit to Freshwater was not all smooth sailing.
“F*** Tony Abbott. F*** that s***,” said one women, as she passed by media waiting for him to vote.
Another woman held up a sign “TONY ABBOTT, SEXIST, RACIST, BIGOT”.
“Don’t go there, Australia,” she repeatedly screamed out.
“This is the 21st century, not the 1950s.”
The man almost certain to be Australia’s next PM was again accosted by two clownfish.
“Save Nemo’s home,” the two environmentalists implored.
“You’ll enjoy Freshwater,” he told them.
“We don’t need to worry about finding Nemo. We’ve already found him.”
Asked who he had voted for, an upbeat Mr Abbott couldn’t resist one last crack.
“It’s a secret ballot,” he joked, before being whisked off for a whistlestop tour of other Sydney electorates.
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