The Ballarat blacksmith turned DLP Senator is a conservative Catholic and opposes any abortion, including for pregnancies as a result of rape. 

In a wide-ranging speech delivered to the Sydney Institute last night, Senator Madigan said the Gillard government had shown no interest in making abortions rare. 

Elected in 2010, Senator Madigan does not face re-election this year and could hold the balance of power in the Senate after the election. 

“For those of us who for decades have fought for justice for the unborn, it galls me to watch political candidates strut around seeking votes from pro-life groups only to hear their entourage proclaiming platitudes,” he said. 

He said Mr Abbott had recently adopted a common rhetorical position from the United States, that abortion should be “safe, legal and rare”. 

“However, I would like to point out that there is no such thing as a safe abortion; someone always dies,” Senator Madigan said.

He called for a pro-life political lobby to be established in Australia and said people with religious or ethical convictions were “seen as a liability in politics”.

Federal independent MP Bob Katter yesterday refused to give his position on the subject, saying the media was trying to paint his party as extremists. 

Mr Katter said Katter’s Australia Party did not have an official position on the issue and became irate when asked about his own views. 

“We are sick and tired of you people trying to paint us as some sort of extremist organisation,” he yelled down the phone.

“You’re just trying to do to us what you did to Pauline Hanson.”

Katter’s Australia Party is currently considering whether to run a candidate in the seat of Ballarat in September’s election. 

thomas.mcilroy@fairfaxmedia.com.au