How can Tony Abbott claim to be defending women’s honour when he demands that Defence Minister Stephen Smith apologise to the Commandant of the Australian Defence Force Academy?

I do not intend to go into the details of the scandal that took place in the Defence Academy last year. It’s far too complicated. There was some filming of a sex act which was broadcast simultaneously on Skype without the knowledge and permission of the woman in question. Minister Smith was rightly outraged when he was told about it and expressed his disgust at the way the woman was subsequently victimised by the Academy.

The person in charge of the Academy at that time was Commodore Bruce Kafer and a report on the whole business says that “overall” he is not to blame and will be reinstated.

Be that as it may, I feel that Kafer did not behave as well as he should have last year. So Stephen Smith is correct in not apologising to him.

On this occasion, Smith has been valiant and admirable in his criticism of the Defence Academy and its head.

However, I fail to understand why Tony Abbott, who claims to be a defender of female rights, should then decide to continue his Dr No impersonation and blame the Minister for NOT apologising to Kafer. Surely, this would have been an opportunity to support the Minister’s ethical stand. Abbott could have demonstrated that women should not be treated with such disrespect by the Academy.

But no, instead, he reverted to his silly stance of criticising everything that the government does, even if it’s good.

That is so disappointing. He is in danger of alienating Liberal supporters like me. I already disapprove of his ridiculously unrealistic and unnecessary maternal leave scheme which will pay high earners their entire salary for six months. Talk about absurd!

And now Abbott proves how erratic he is by siding against women in the Defence Force case, just so that he can attack a serving Minister who has some balls.

Abbott has done well to raise the profile of the Opposition, but he is in danger of spoiling it all by being too adversarial.