Spying snafu a serious matter turning to slapstick

The opposition leader then talked about how, despite differences in culture and personal wealth, Australians and Indonesians have ''always got on''. He explained the importance of Indonesia as an economic partner, before wheeling out the now-famous line: ''Australia's foreign policy should have a Jakarta rather than a Geneva focus.''

He continued: ''Effective international relationships require far more engagement and attention to detail than the current government has sometimes given them. I mean focusing on the relationships and the issues that really matter to us rather than the ones which happen to be in the news.

''As far as humanly possible, a Coalition government would try to deal with its Indonesian counterpart as a candid friend … Our country needs to earn Indonesia's respect and affection now if we are to have it when we need it.''

After the speech, in the period leading up to September 7, Abbott continued to talk of the importance of Indonesia - of how Labor had mucked up the relationship - and how the Coalition would come right in and fix it. In his address to the National Press Club on the eve of the federal election, he argued the Coalition's asylum-seeker policy would relieve pressure on a ''vital'' relationship.

Fast forward less than three months and such comments - about fixing, boosting and nurturing the partnership with Indonesia - seem like the set-up for an epic punch line. Since the Coalition won government, Australia-Indonesia relations have plummeted to the point where counselling is required. Not only has Indonesia refused to take back asylum seekers on (a known) two out of four occasions, but it has put the kibosh on the Coalition's big-ticket ''buyback'' policy.

This week in Senate estimates, Commander of Operation Sovereign Borders Lieutenant-General Angus Campbell conceded that no boats had been bought. And no buying was planned, due to the wishes of the Indonesian government. Then there are the claims that have emerged out of the Edward Snowden leaks, that Australia has been spying on Indonesia out of its embassy in Jakarta and that the phones of SBY and his wife were targeted by the Australian Signals Directorate.

So far, the fallout has seen protesters outside the Australian embassy, the recalling of Indonesia's ambassador, the suspension of people smuggling and military co-operation, a letter from SBY to Abbott demanding an explanation … and a host of angry presidential tweets.

If the subject matter was not so serious, it would be slapstick - so quickly has the Coalition's control of the situation unravelled. Granted, the intelligence incidents in question did not happen under Abbott's time as PM. Nor are the US National Security Agency leaks the Coalition's fault. But the government has been at the wheel when it comes to managing Australia's response. So why was the Prime Minister's initial reaction so blithe?

Last week on the ABC's 7.30, he pointed out the ''so-called [embassy] spying'' happened under the former government'', dismissively adding that ''all governments gather information''.

Then, as revelations of the SBY phone tap emerged, he gave a chest-beating performance in Parliament, telling Indonesia not to fuss.

''Australia should not be expected to apologise for the steps we take to protect our country,'' he said. And then this little kicker: ''Australia shouldn't be expected to detail what we do to protect our country any more than other governments should be expected to detail what they do to protect theirs.''

As foreign affairs experts have argued, there are good reasons why Abbott should not explicitly apologise to Indonesia. But there is a middle ground between saying sorry for - and therefore admitting to - an intelligence practice and essentially telling Indonesia that Australia has every right to spy on its bestie.

Perhaps more telling is that along with the Jakarta over Geneva stuff, the Coalition also used the election lead-up to spruik its turn back policy, despite significant concerns expressed by senior members of the Indonesian government. That and the Coalition called its militarised stop-the-boats policy ''Operation Sovereign Borders'' (how diplo-friendly is that?).

In transposing the ''tough-it-out'' approach it takes to domestic politics to the international sphere, the Coalition has come precariously unstuck. Indonesia may have its own (domestic) reasons for pressing the outrage button over the spying snafu. But it would not seem so justified if the Abbott response had been more conciliatory and more immediate.

You can talk all you want about the importance of a relationship, but sometimes you have to act like it, too.

Judith Ireland is a Fairfax Media journalist.