★★★★★ 0/5

SKY News People’s Forum with Tony Abbott

Kevin Rudd declines a People's Forum and Tony Abbott declines a leaders debate.

6
Leave a comment

2013-07-18_2250SKY News will host a People’s Forum with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.

The event will take place at ‘Country Club Tasmania’ in Launceston on Thursday July 25, moderated by Political Editor David Speers.

SKY News and Tasmania’s Mercury newspaper invited both Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott to take questions from an audience of undecided voters for one hour separately and then to come together for a face-to-face session at the end.

Tony Abbott agreed only to the one hour of questions from the audience, not the face-to-face session. Kevin Rudd declined on the grounds he only wants to debate the Opposition Leader.

The Abbott hour will go ahead.

“The great thing about these forums is their unpredictability. Issues can come up that aren’t on the radar and so we can see a political leader taken out of their comfort zone. It’s also much harder for a politician to brush off a question when it’s coming from a legitimately concerned voter standing right in front of them,” said Speers.

4pm PM Agenda
6.30pm The People’s Forum
8pm The Nation

6 Responses

  2. I’d rather watch the test pattern than listen to Tony Abbott speaking in his halting delivery style .He always talks as though he is listening to someone prompting him through an ear piece.

  3. For as long as I can recall we’ve had political debates (the worm). What is the issue with Abbot refusing a debate with the PM, refusing to appear on Q&A, but will appear in some remote “People’s Forum”, which will be watched by about 20K on Sky? In a tiny venue, with “an audience of undecided voters”. Spare me. If they said they voted Labor they wouldn’t get in. After all, this is Sky News Corp. Poor Malcolm, and his embarrassment over “Real Solutions” on Q&A.

  4. These People Forum’s are massively overrated, but I don’t understand what Rudd’s people are thinking by declining the invitation. They had Abbott on the back foot over his shameful absence from the National Press Club & now they do this. Yet, of course if Abbott wasn’t so afraid of debating Rudd in the first place then there wouldn’t be an issue.

    Abbott is not a fit & proper leader. Whether it be PM or a Scout group.

  5. From the Yahoo7 website- “Who is your preferred Prime Minister?
    Kevin Rudd 30% (1639)
    Tony Abbott 43% (2297)
    Malcolm Turnbull 27% (1463)”

    And the winner is…according to 7…
    “Turnbull more popular than Abbott and Rudd” (since 27 is more than 30 or 43)

Leave a Reply