Abbott/Farage swap not on

 As a well-documented Commonwealth citizen who was born to British parents, Tony Abbott can come and go to the UK, and stay as long as he likes. However, because of Covid-19 restrictions, "Only Australian citizens and returning permanent residents and their immediate family members are permitted to enter Australia without an exemption until further notice." So there is a prosaic stop on the gallows-humorous suggestion circulating on Facebook that the UK should swap Nigel Farage for the UK's latest appointment to the Board of Trade.

In any case, the Board itself meets only every three months under normal circumstances, so Mr Abbott need only be in the UK for a few days in each year. His appointment is voluntary and will involve promoting UK trade interests to other countries. This has raised questions not only here but also back home:

Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen said it was "pretty extraordinary" for a former Australian Prime Minister to be promoting the trade agenda of another country. "It's up to the Government to explain whether Tony Abbott, for example, is regarded as an agent of foreign influence under their rules," he said.

Opposition spokesmen here have queried the appointment, too:

Shadow international development secretary Emily Thornberry said Mr Abbott was "the wrong" choice "on every level" and had "no experience of detailed trade negotiations, no understanding of Brexit, no belief in climate change, no concern for workers' rights". A group of equality activists - including actor Sir Ian McKellen and Doctor Who writer Russell T Davies - has written an open letter against Mr Abbott's appointment. It says: "This is a man who described abortion as 'the easy way out' and suggested that men may be 'by physiology or temperament more adapted to exercise authority or to issue command'." "For all these reasons and more besides, this man is not fit to be representing the UK as our trade envoy," the letter adds. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said Mr Abbott had "no place in any British government". And the SNP's deputy Westminster leader, Kirsten Oswald, called the appointment "beyond indefensible".

He has also suggested that:
corona-virus lock-downs come at too high a price and that people should be allowed to choose to "let nature take its course" if their elderly relatives get COVID-19.

His sister, who is out gay and in a same-sex marriage, has come to his defence. He is no homophobe, she asserts, and was happy to attend her wedding ceremony. That must mean that he merely hypocritically trades on prejudice for electoral purposes. So that;s all right, then - except that he has also cast doubt on ecological measures. Is that also for consumption in coal-exporting Australia and will he promote the UK's green industries? Or is he there to balance green-promoting board adviser Michael Liebreich? 

It is hard to see what is in the appointment for either side, except for causing controversy.