Up close and personal with Tony Abbott

I will want to know exactly what the obstacles to these sales (uranium) would be, exactly why there seems to have been a bit of dragging of the chain by perhaps the officials, rather than others

PL: An Indian personality, alive or dead, who has made an impression on you?

TA: Mohandas K Gandhi, because he managed to lead his people in a great struggle, and he did what he could to ensure that the struggle was peaceful.

PL: Your favourite Indian restaurant in Sydney?

TA: The Indian Times, at Bantry Bay Road in Frenchs Forest is the restaurant I most frequently take advantage of, it is my local. Probably more often takeaway rather than a sit-down meal, but they do a very good job there and I can thoroughly recommend them.

PL: Your favourite order at an Indian restaurant?

TA: Lamb rogan josh, chicken tikka, beef Bombay and there’s a prawn masala there which is very good.

PL: Ever cooked something Indian?

TA: I used to cook a reasonable curry, but these days my wife tries to keep me out of the kitchen.

PL: An Indian book you have read that’s made an impression?

TA: I haven’t had enough time to read lately. There has been an extraordinary proliferation of Indian literature in English over the last couple of decades, and I’m probably not as up with it as I should be, so I’ll probably pass on this question, but I did have a go at Vikram Seth’s, A Suitable Boy, and I must confess I didn’t really like it much. That’s probably a comment on me, on my busy work, but I confess I didn’t get through it.

PL: Seen any Indian films?

TA: Again, when I was in India I watched some Bollywood films. They weren’t really my type, but like everyone else, I watched Slumdog Millionaire and I loved it.

PL: An Indian word you know?

TA: Well ‘khaki,’ as I understand it, is an English word derived from India.

PL: An outstanding memory from your time spent in India?

TA: I guess apart from the colours, the sounds, the extraordinary work of the Jesuits, probably my strongest memory is just the readiness of the ordinary Indian to engage with me. You couldn’t walk 10 yards without being basically hailed and talked to, and maybe it was because in those days, a white face in the street was a rare thing. Maybe it was because they just wanted to practise their English on me, but I certainly had an amazing time there.

PL: Or maybe they saw a fair dinkum fellow in you over there...

TA: (Laughing) Well, I’d like to think that I was a fair dinkum fellow but I guess at that point in time they may not have known that.

PL: India – Australia relationship future?

TA: Well look, I want to do everything I reasonably can to build a better relationship between Australia and India because this will be good for India, but it will be very, very good for Australia.

PL: Your message for the Indian Australian community?

TA: It’s a simple one, and it’s much the same message that I would give to every Australian at this time. We must change the government because we can’t afford another three years like the last six. I lead the coalition and this is what we’ll do; we’ll build a stronger economy so that everyone will get ahead. We’ll scrap the carbon tax and we’ll end the waste, we’ll stop the boats and we’ll build the roads of the 21st century. But in order to do all this, we need a stable majority government and that’s what I will bring with me if elected.