Ricky Ponting's retirement causes détente in Australia parliament The torrid debate, which involved "sleazy" claims that Julia Gillard acted illegally to help her then boyfriend before she entered parliament, prompted calls for the prime minster to resign and a demand for Tony Abbott, the opposition leader, to issue a public apology. This brought silence and allowed Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott to extend their congratulations. "He is going to go into the next phase of his life with a lot of gratitude and a lot of thanks from the Australian community - full as it is with cricket tragics," she said. Mr Abbott described Ponting as a national role model. "He is undoubtedly one of the all time greats of one of the very great games," he said. He is someone that I think all young Australians can look up to. A Tasmanian MP, Geoff Lyons, issued a final interjection, calling out "a great man from Bass" - a reference to Ponting's Tasmanian hometown. The brief show of accord contrasted starkly with a venomous question time - the last of the year - which was likened by commentators to a "cage fight." The Opposition has accused Ms Gillard of acting illegally while working as a law partner to set up an association for her then boyfriend, Bruce Wilson, a union official who allegedly misused its funds. Ms Gillard has denied the claims and today described Mr Abbott as "a man who clutches for negativity and sleaze whenever he can."