FED:Abbott carbon campaign hits a snag

AAP General News (Australia)
08-17-2011
FED:Abbott carbon campaign hits a snag

CANBERRA, Aug 17 AAP - Opposition Leader Tony Abbott gave a planned media conference
the chop on Wednesday after the butcher shop he intended to use as the venue received
an "aggressive" phone call.

Mr Abbott was to go to an outlet in the Canberra suburb of Dickson to talk about the
adverse impact of the carbon tax, but called it off after the owner received what was
described as an "aggressive phone call".

The opposition leader would not elaborate at a hastily rescheduled media conference
at a meat wholesaler in Fyshwick.

Mr Abbott said he made the decision to switch the venue because the business owner
felt uncomfortable but one source said the upset phone caller may have been a relative
or "big" customer of the business owner.

When AAP contacted The Butcher Shop in Dickson, a staffer said that she had been instructed
to say the media conference would be reconvened at Parliament House and that was all she
could say.

"We've had a lot of calls from people like you this morning," she told AAP.

Reporters who turned up at the Dickson business were blocked from entering by an Abbott staffer.

AAP pjo/bwl/dep

KEYWORD: CLIMATE ABBOTT (PIX AND VIDEO AVAILABLE)

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