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The 51 Most WTF Things That Happened In Australian Politics In 2015

Downing beers, eating onions, two leadership spills and a new PM.

1. The year started with this man, Tony Abbott as prime minister... getting the most hectic selfie with a tradie.

PM dons some flash sunnies #auspol #libspill

2. But things quickly started going downhill, like when he gave an Australian knighthood to the UK's Prince Philip ON AUSTRALIA DAY.

3. When he referred to Aboriginal people living in remote communities as a "lifestyle choice" and people got really mad.

4. When he wore a green tie and filmed a St Patricks Day message which the Irish media called "patronising" for reducing them to historical caricatures.

5. When he called windfarms "visually awful" and brought in a Wind Farm Commissioner to look into the debunked 'wind turbine syndrome'.

6. When he smashed an entire beer in six seconds and the nation went bloody wild.

7. Not to be outdone, senior Labor MP Anthony Albanese was also filmed skolling an entire beer at a post footy function.

8. He also delighted the media by issuing the world's shortest ever press release.

9. When Christopher Pyne definitely called him a "cunt" on national morning television.

10. When Labor MP Sam Dastyari beautifully quoted Taylor Swift lyrics into hansard.

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11. When then-treasurer Joe Hockey delivered a simple message for first home buyers: get a "good job" that "pays good money". It sent people crazy.

12. When foreign minister Julie Bishop dealt Hockey the world's sickest eye-roll and face-palm in parliament.

13. When she got caught (allegedly) calling her counterpart Tanya Plibersek "a bitch" from across the chamber.

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14. Don't worry Joe Hockey was trying to stay upbeat, like when he crashed this Sunrise segment like a happy, jolly fella.

15. When agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce declared war on Johnny Depp's dogs Pistol and Boo.

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16. It kicked off a truly baffling spat between Joyce and Depp, who called the Aussie MP a "sweaty big-gutted man". Buuuuuurn.

17. When government MP Andrew Laming was suspended from parliament for a day, because he poured cruise ship oil on his hands, spilling it on tables, causing a fire hazard.

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18. When we had a national debate about removing the GST from tampons and sanitary pads and this mega tampon was made for Joe Hockey

19. What about when independent senator Glenn Lazarus threatened to literally finger the prime minister with a "Hopoate tackle".

Reminder... this is a Hopoate tackle.

20. When Clive Palmer told Tony Abbott he should kill himself and everyone was like, what?! (He later apologised).

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21. Or when Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm told a Twitter parody account it was a "legitimate fuckwit".

22. The government then launched an insane war on the ABC after some guy told a government minister on Q&A his policies encouraged people to join ISIS.

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23. It lasted several weeks, with Tony Abbott announcing a full boycott of the show, asking the ABC "whose side are you on?".

Oh Lord! News Corp trash got it in for me tomorrow. Time for a holy ciggi 🚬😂

24. The guy at the centre of it, Zaky Mallah, even got in Twitter stoushes with government MPs.

25. At least Tony Abbott was around to have press conferences with ever-more Australian flags which became a running joke.

26. But don't worry there was another Q&A scandal! This tweet got on-screen and the PM called the ABC "out of control".

27. When the speaker Bronwyn Bishop was forced to resign because of the #choppergate scandal, in which she caught a $5000 helicopter trip to a Liberal party fundraiser.

28. So someone took a photo of her wiping down her economy class seat on a flight.

29. When Christopher Pyne repeatedly called himself the "fixer" for "fixing" the government's higher education reforms.

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Sure he got himself a new nickname, but nothing was fixed. The government ditched the policy.

30. When attorney-general George Brandis was caught wearing a daggy jumper and became a glorious new meme.

Covergurl! Put the Brandis in your walk

31. Or when immigration minister Peter Dutton accused Fairfax Media of waging "a bit of a jihad" against the government.

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So someone spliced in footage of Tony Abbott saying, "If you want better coverage be a better government."

32. When the immigration department was renamed "Australian Border Force" and the country got a new flag.

Our glorious new flag design, appropriately flying at half mast. #boundlessplainstoshare

33. When defence minister Kevin Andrews was asked to name the leader of ISIS and he couldn't, so he said he wouldn't because of "operational matters".

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34. When then-communications minister Malcolm Turnbull got an SBS reporter fired for tweets critical of ANZAC Day.

35. When Tony Abbott dropped a couple Nazi references in parliament... remember "a holocaust of jobs"?

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36. When George Brandis was caught, kicking back and reading bush poetry during Senate estimates.

37. When Tony Abbott groomed social services minister Scott Morrison like he was a monkey.

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38. Or when immigration minister Peter Dutton told a hilarious joke about pacific islands being swallowed by the effects of climate change.

And that perfect moment Scott Morrison told him there was a boom microphone, like, just above him.

39. When Tony Abbott just went ahead and took a bite out of a raw onion and this vine became the most looped in Australian history.

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40. And when more secret footage was released of Abbott eating another onion.

41. When Malcolm Turnbull rolled Tony Abbott and Australia got its fifth prime minister in three years!

42. So naturally Australians #putoutyouronions in memory of Tony Abbott.

Goodbye, Tone. #putoutyouronions #libspill #auspol

43. And wrestler Hulk Hogan was tricked into tweeting some hilarious advice at the dumped PM.

44. When at Malcolm Turnbull's first press conference as PM a hot camera guy showed up and the nation lost its ~thirsty~ minds.

2 flags. 1 hot dude with a phone. #TurnbullsMinistry

45. When opposition leader Bill Shorten awkwardly misidentified Alan Kurdi (the boy who washed up on a Turkish shore) as a girl... TWICE!

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46. When it emerged that this Italian marble table was destroyed at Tony Abbott's post-prime ministerial piss-up, cementing his legend status.

47. When new treasurer Scott Morrison was repeatedly asked to swear on a bible during one of the most incredible radio interviews in recent times.

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BUT THERE WAS NO BIBLE.

48. When government senator Eric Abetz called a US Supreme Court Justice a "negro"... and he defended his right to say it because Martin Luther King said it.

49. When Bill Shorten was caught on camera doing some daggy dancing in Kiribati.

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50. But really 2015 was all about the downfall of Tony Abbott, who gave us so many WTF moments that this list could go on forever.

51. Bring on 2016!!!! Let's leave the final words to former Labor minister Greg Combet to express the true state of Aussie politics.