General News
22 September, 2026
Former PM Tony Abbott visits WLC
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott AC and Member for Lowan Emma Kealy visited Horsham on Friday, September 18, to visit the Wimmera Cancer Centre and discuss leadership with students at Wimmera Lutheran College.
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott AC and Member for Lowan Emma Kealy visited Horsham on Friday, September 18, to visit the Wimmera Cancer Centre and discuss leadership with students at Wimmera Lutheran College.
Mr Abbott reflected that the last time he was in Horsham was when he participated in the Pollie Pedal bike ride in 2015.
“It’s good to be back again after a little more than 10 years,” Mr Abbott said.
During Mr Abbott’s prime ministerial career, the federal government announced a $1 million grant in 2015 to support the development of the Wimmera Cancer Centre at the Wimmera Base Hospital in Horsham, which officially opened in 2019.
“When you’re in some kind of political leadership position, lots of things happen, and then life moves on, and it's nice occasionally to come back and be reminded that the good work back then has ongoing benefits,” he said at the Wimmera Cancer Centre.
Mr Abbott and Ms Kealy attended the WLC Horsham Campus, where the former PM spoke about the values of leadership.
“We will only be better than we are if all of us, from the Prime Minister, down to the humblest citizen, does his or her best to be better today and even better tomorrow,” Mr Abbott said.
“I think the objective of every human being is to live their life to the best; that means making the most of our opportunities.
“It means striving to be a good friend, a good neighbour, a good citizen, a good family member, and at least some of that comes down to leadership, because leadership is not just something that you expect from a premier, or a prime minister, or an archbishop, or a school principal.
“Leadership is something that every single one of us is called to exercise in some way, whether we see a problem and we decide to act, whether we decide to be the most sacrificing person in the family, the most diligent worker in the office, or the best teacher in the school.
“These are all forms of leadership, and we need more good leadership in quiet ways, in demonstrative ways, in every way.”
Mr Abbott urged students not to limit what can be achieved, outlining his career from becoming a full-time journalist after years of training for the Catholic Priesthood.
He then joined parliament as a backbencher, then a junior minister, a cabinet minister, leader of the House of Representatives, a front-bench member in the opposition, opposition leader, and finally prime minister.
He encouraged students to delve into reading, with his knowledge of historical leaders and passion for literature clear during the leadership forum.
“You learn great examples of leadership whenever you read great literature,” he said.
“I think history is an incredibly great source of lessons about different circumstances that people have faced over the years, and how they’ve dealt with the problems in their times because even though history never exactly reflects itself, there is, in a sense, nothing new under the sun, and almost everything we have to wrestle with today has in some way been wrestled with by our forebears.
“Our own experience teaches us a lot, but if you delve into books, particularly great literature and good history, you’ve got access to a huge treasure house of experience and wisdom because reading will expose you to the whole story of the human race in a way that your own experience never can.”
After his introductory monologue on leadership, students had the opportunity to ask the former prime minister questions, such as what qualities make a great leader.
“Character, conviction and luck,” he replied.
“They’re the most important things; they will make you a great leader.
“If you ask a further question, ‘what makes a successful leader?’ well then you need luck.”
He referred to the ingenious leadership of General Sir John Monash, who perfected the combined arms warfare concept on the Western Front, making him arguably the greatest leader in the British Empire in the First World War.
“There could well have been generals greater than Monash, who were killed on the first day of Gallipoli.
“Monash was in a sense lucky, and he turned out to be a really, really great general,” Mr Abbott said.
He referred to a peer and rival of Monash, Major General William Holmes, who was meticulous in his planning of every battle; however, he was killed by a shell burst while surveying the ground won after the Battle of Messines in 1917.
“And that's a way which can determine the fate of individuals and ultimately the fate of nations; so, luck,” Mr Abbott said.
He concluded the leadership forum with a final message for students.
“It doesn't matter how good anyone is; it doesn't matter what success they have in their time," he said.
"After their time, things can change, and everything that they worked for could be swept away one way or another.
“But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t do it; we should all be the best we can in the title we’ve got, and then let Providence or fate determine what happens afterwards.”