Twice as pious

Tony Abbott isn't the only Catholic in Cabinet. But in some ways Abbott manages to be even more regressive.

Those with a Catholic background account for nearly half of Mr Abbott's cabinet, roughly double the 25 per cent of Australians who described themselves as Catholics at the last census.

Author Roy Williams, who has written about religion in Australian politics, says this marks an extraordinary departure, especially for the Liberal Party, which has traditionally "been a party of mainstream Protestantism". The Age

Gay marriage in the ACT? Not on Tony's watch

Time to lawyer up

The ACT Government says same-sex couples will be able to get married in Canberra before the end of the year, with the introduction of the Marriage Equality Bill into the ACT Legislative Assembly.

But Mr Abbott wants to see the legal details. ABC

Thicker than a stack of Bibles

Abbott ministry sworn in.

Forty-one frontbenchers took the oath, the overwhelming majority coming with their own bibles.

New parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister Josh Frydenberg brought the Bible that his mentor Zelman Cowen used when he was sworn in as governor-general in 1977, while Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce (who arrived at Government House in a maxi taxi) came with not one, but two tomes.

Arguably, they were upstaged by parliamentary secretary for education, Scott Ryan, who brought along a humungus family heirloom for his swear-in moment. The Age