Thank you Tony Abbott

[sarah308]

thank you Tony Abbott for having a moral concenious and a dedication to community service and voleunteering and helping the community.

qualified firefighter, qualified surf life saver and he puts the hours and effort into community, he raises hundreds of thousands of $ for charities

this is a person of values and community ethics....and prepared to go out there and put his efforts into helping

https://www.google.com.au/#q=tony+abbott+firefighter

https://www.google.com.au/#q=tony+abbott+volunteer

well done Tony keep it up you are a person of ethics and community values

[lakeland27]

thankyou for posing for the cameras tone. he's a real man. unfortunately we need a decent PM, not a self-styled half baked action hero.

[cherry*135]

Thank you to the firefighters from various states in Aust who are fighting the bushfires in NSW today and the last few days, who risk their lives daily...to help save lives and property.

[sarah308]

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@am*3 wrote:

Thank you to the firefighters from various states in Aust who are fighting the bushfires in NSW today and the last few days, who risk their lives daily...to help save lives and property.

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yes i agree 100%

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/west/inside-tent-city-how-800-firefighters-prepare-for-bl...

this is community values at its finest

[debra9275]

I'm so glad he took time out for a photo shoot, otherwise I would never have known he was there

[azureline**]

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@debra9275 wrote:

I'm so glad he took time out for a photo shoot, otherwise I would never have known he was there

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I would be more impressed if he wasn't having photo opportunities...............

[freddie*rooster]

Tony is far too busy driving the fire truck and posing for the TV camera's to acknowledge your thread at the moment, but I feel sure when he comes in to ebay to see if he can get some cheap 2nd hand clothing he will pop in and say thanks sarah.

Tone's my hero!!

[***super_nova***]

Yep!...a 'stunt" COMMENT: I'm going to try to convince readers that Abbott's appearance at the NSW fires was no more than a stage-managed event and there has been a lot of BS proffered as to what happened. You see, when a person becomes a PM, his/her world changes and it's all got to do with security and ASIO and the Federal Police are in charge. The PM has to go along with the security protocol, no questions asked. I have had extensive discussions with a long term person in ASIO and he put it.."You don't drive. You don't go to the shops. You don't call tradesmen ... If you want to go watch your kid play football the (Australian Federal Police) have to sweep the oval. It's a massive change."......Abbott did not just waltz up to the fires and do a shift. He turned up, security detail in place, had some photos taken, talked to some people, had some more photos taken...and that was it. Now we are immensely thankful and proud of the RFS volunteers.....but we need to call a 'spade a spade' in exposing Abbott, once again, as the well seasoned 'stuntman' in action....and anyone who believes otherwise needs to replace their suppository.

[punch*drunk]

I might be reading different news reports, but I'm pretty sure he didnt go around publicising this. There were photos taken by someone else and shared on social media.

[**meep**]

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@punch*drunk wrote:

I might be reading different news reports, but I'm pretty sure he didnt go around publicising this. There were photos taken by someone else and shared on social media.

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From the Sarah's link on the other thread:

Trent  Dowling, who is the captain of the Davidson NSW rural fire brigade, yesterday slammed critics of Mr Abbott, saying he often pulled more than his own weight when on patrol and had been a loyal volunteer for more than ten years.

"I think it's all just complete rubbish and it is 100 per cent disrespectful to any volunteer out there helping to battle the fire," Mr Dowling told News Corp from the fire front yesterday.

"He is just a normal guy doing what he always does with us. People should just leave it alone as it's wearing pretty thin."

Mr Abbott has faced criticism since he joined his local fire service for a 14-hour night shift on Saturday to help with back burning near Bilpin in the NSW Blue Mountains.

His service was not publicised by his media office and they did not issue a statement until several blurry photos appeared on social media.

Mr Dowling said the Prime Minister had earned the respect of his local fire crew and had been a loyal volunteer since he first joined in October 2000.

He said Mr Abbott had even been appointed deputy captain two years in a row but had to step down from the duties when he became opposition leader in 2009.

"That wasn't because he didn't want that position, it was simply because with his extra workload he would be away from home more often," Mr Dowling said.

"Tony is an extremely fit guy and pulls his weight out there; in fact he often pulls more than his own weight.

"He has the total respect of the members and wasn't there for a photo opportunity."

Mr Dowling said many of the Davidson crew were "really p----- off" that Mr Abbott was facing criticism and his service was of such interest to the media.

"He is just one normal person doing what he always does. We've got people here in the canteen who are working from 4am till after 5pm just to feed our people," he said.

"We should be praising and talking about our back of house heroes, not unnecessarily dumping a whole lot of criticism on one guy who is just helping out."