Mark Furner (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I do withdraw that comment. Once again, they are not my words; it is a headline in the Sydney Morning Herald, based on an interview between Kerry O'Brien and Mr Tony Abbott. As Mr Abbott said:

… which is one of the reasons why the statements that need to be taken absolutely as gospel truth is those carefully prepared scripted remarks.

I do not know what that means and I do not know what the public thought of that, but certainly after that interview there was a poll. I know the opposition get excited by polls. The poll asked the question: will Tony Abbott's admission devalue everything he says in the lead-up to the election? The overwhelming majority of respondents, 68 per cent, said yes, while 32 per cent said no.