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My most important experience was studying
political economy, economic history and
neoclassical economics. Ted Wheelwright and
Frank Stilwell … had an immense influence on my
thinking – Greg Combet
How did politics at university
help shape your current political
stance?
abbott I’m not sure that it shaped my
values or beliefs although, inevitably, in
the cut and thrust of argument these are
refined. As a conservative, student politics
was an education in learning how to make
a case to an often hostile audience.
turnbull It didn’t really, I found both
the left and the extreme right at university
pretty off putting. My natural home was in
the sensible, liberal centre.
bishop I think at university we were
among a group of pioneering young
women. The fact that there were so few
girls in our faculty allowed us to develop
friendships and connections that may not
happen today. The dynamics were different
and the girls who were there were very
achievement orientated and went on to
do really good things. Politically, I enjoyed
the Young Liberals because I wanted to
be involved in the party. Back then few
women had gone to Federal Parliament
and none from NSW. I became the first
female elected senator from NSW, the
first female from NSW to move from the
Senate to the House of Representatives.
I became the first woman for the Liberal
Party from NSW to enter the House and
the first female from the NSW Liberal
Party to become a minister. I am the only
woman to have been a senator, a member
and a minister and I was the first female
president of the Liberal Party in NSW.
combet The most important
experience for me at Sydney Uni was
through studying political economy,
economic history and neoclassical
economics. I was very privileged to learn
from Ted Wheelwright, Frank Stilwell and
others. They had an immense influence
on my thinking and development, and
I am deeply indebted to them for the
opportunities they helped create in my
working life. Studying political economy
provided a theoretical framework
that complemented my values and
commitment to social justice.
leigh My political ideas were probably
shaped later in life, but I learned a great
deal about writing (particularly through
Honi) and speaking (particularly through
debating).
OAKESHOTT Most of my old mates
from university want to put me in a
headlock on a lot of my policy or political
positions, so in hindsight, I guess hanging
out with them in my early 20s didn’t
impact on my political thinking much
at all. And if you knew them, you would
understand why.
Did you cross swords with any of
your current political rivals at
university? If so, can you tell us
about that and who came out on
top?
abbott Not really. It was more a
question of teaming up with future allies
like Peter Costello, Eric Abetz, Michael
Kroger and Michael Yabsley.
SAM mar 2013 25