The latest gaffe occurred during an interview on a morning commercial radio show, when one of the hosts asked Mr Abbott: “This is just a bit from left field, the captain from the Costa Concordia wants to know if you need any help with your boat policy?” “Well that was one boat that did get stopped, wasn’t it,” he replied, prompting laughter.
Mr Abbott, who pledged to “Stop the Boats” during the 2010 election campaign, later admitted he should not have made the comment.
“On reflection, it’s probably something that should not have been the subject of light-hearted banter on morning radio,” he said.
“I was asked a light-hearted question, I gave a light-hearted response.
It’s probably not the subject that people should be bantering about, even on morning radio, but look, I think that’s all that needs to be said about it and let’s move on.”