Tony Abbott calls teen surfer ‘talented’ and ‘extremely attractive’ after sharing a wave
The faux pas continue for Tony Abbott who dropped in on a teen Gold Coast surfer’s wave, then said she was “extremely attractive” in a radio interview.
A photo of the former prime minister stealing the wave from 17-year-old schoolgirl Ivy Thomas in Noosa during the Easter long weekend was circulated widely, with Aussies initially shaming Abbott’s surf-side manner.
The teen surfer’s friend Bailey Eldering snapped the photo, which Ivy then posted on her Instagram account.
“So this morning I got dropped in on by the ex Prime Minister of Australia,” she wrote in the caption. “Thanks for capturing this bizarre moment @bailey.eldering #onlyinAustralia.”
Catching a wave once another surfer has claimed it is frowned upon as poor surfing etiquette.
The foot in mouth continued, where the former Liberal leader blamed his poor peripheral vision as the reason he ‘snaked’ on 17-year-old Ivy Thomas, in an interview with regional Queensland radio station Roccy FM.
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“I was just catching the wave minding my own business,” Abbott said.
“There was this extremely attractive and very, very talented surfer."
The remark harks back to when Abbott came under fire during his 2013 election campaign, commenting on the "sex appeal" of Liberal candidate for Lindsay Fiona Scott.
Back then, he wrote it off as a "daggy Dad" moment, but it led to further backlash of ‘misogynist’ views which raged during former leader Julia Gillard's time in office.
“The truth is I have no peripheral vision, particularly when I'm surfing," Abbott told the radio station.
"If it's a right hand break, I just can't see out of my left eye. It's just impossible. I don't know whether it's the salt water or if it's some genetic defect but I just can't see.”
The Year 12 student, who was visiting Noosa with her family at the time of the encounter, said the ex-PM’s comment was “a bit weird” but she remains unfazed about the encounter.
“I didn't mind the 'talented' part, but yeah, I dunno. I suppose if that's his opinion I can't really change it,” she told the Daily Mail on Thursday.
“I was glad it was a positive remark, it could have been so much worse.”
The teen laughed off the incident saying, “at least he wasn't wearing his budgie smugglers”.
Thomas said the Warringah MP was surfing with his daughter, being a “normal person”. “He was just out there having fun.”
Abbott chatted to radio host Wes Heather about the incident while being interviewed about his tour through regional New South Wales for the Pollie Pedal charity ride.
The image sparked some witty comments on social media, some calling the former PM kooky.
One Instagram user wrote: “It turns out he's an even bigger kook than we thought.”
“Stealing your future & your waves,” commented another.
“He even surfs with a right wing,” another joked.
Another was relieved Abbott wasn’t wearing his infamous budgie smugglers: “Woos! He's wearing a wet suit.”
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