Abbott renews Covid rules attack

TONY Abbott has ripped into Australia’s response to Covid-19, describing the nation’s rules as oppressive and overreach.

The former prime minister has been a consistent critic of the country’s pandemic response.

But Mr Abbott has gone much harder in a blistering essay for the Institute of Public Affairs.

“We’ve protected lives and ruined them at the same time,” he said. “A bit like the Vietnam-era American officer who declared the village had to be destroyed in order to be saved.”

Mr Abbott said the pandemic response reflected a deeply ethical concern for the preciousness of every life. “To me, it often seemed an over-reaction from people who’d forgotten the inevitability of death and the importance of living each day to the full,” he said.

Mr Abbott recently copped a $500 infringement after being sprung in public without a mask.

He took aim at the person who dobbed him in. “I never thought dobbing and snitching was part of the Australian character,” he said. “As soon as we can leave this health police state mindset behind us, the better for everyone.”

Late last year, Mr Abbott was investigated after he was seen cycling outside his zone of residence in Sydney’s northern beaches.

He was cleared by police of breaching public health orders.