Tones' sister isn't thrilled he'll be hanging out with an anti-LGBTI group in the US.

Remember the enormous sigh of relief that was heard echoing across progressive Australia when Tony Abbott was ousted as Prime Minister?

Or that warm fuzzy feeling you felt soon afterwards when he delivered a lecture to a group of UK conservatives on why Europeans ought to try “stopping the boats” to cope with the influx of Syrian refugees?

Or perhaps it hit home when he penned that anti-Muslim op-ed in the Daily Telegraph recently and you thought, ‘Christ, I’m sure glad that man’s not in charge any more.’

Well, get ready to exhale again, because you’ll never guess what Tones is upto now (actually, you might).

Much like our new PM, Abbott has also taken a trip to the US, but unlike Malcolm Turnbull, who has been busily building ties with Obama in the White House and the more moderate members of America’s Republican right, Tones is going to be hanging with his mates from the Alliance Defending Freedom, a far-right Christian group with a widely known anti-gay and anti-choice agenda.

Apparently, Abbott will be delivering a speech on the topic of “the importance of family”.

It’s not clear what that speech will entail exactly, but it’s safe to say not everyone from his own family is super chuffed that he’ll be making it.

Abbott’s sister Christine Forster, who is a prominent same-sex marriage campaigner told Fairfax yesterday she was “disappointed” in her brother.

“On the face of it, and without knowing what he is going there to say, it is disappointing,” she said.

“It doesn’t sit with my understanding of how he views the world, so, yes, I was surprised. I don’t believe Tony is in any way winding back rights for the gay community but I was surprised to hear he was going.”

While Abbott’s conservatism is far from a secret, the decision to affiliate himself with such a group does seem a bit extreme, even for him.

The ADF purport to be stalwart defenders of “freedom” for eg. the freedom to discriminate against members of the LGBTI community and, um, the freedom to give women unsolicited advice on what they can and can’t do with their bodies.

Basically, any of the freedoms one requires to be a right-wing bigot in modern America.

They’ve actively campaigned to undo protections for LGBTI people, including defending businesses who don’t want to employ them, fighting states who would let them marry and even stopping education programs in schools to protect children from being bullied because of their sexuality.

By contrast, as Prime Minister, Abbott at least agreed to a non-binding plebiscite on the issue of same-sex marriage.

Asked what he thought of his predecessor’s new pals, Turnbull said Tones was entitled to speak with whomever he liked.

“He does have fairly a conservative position on issues like that, so he probably would find he’s talking to people with similar views, perhaps,” he told The Project on Tuesday.

“He is entitled to speak to such audiences as he wishes.”

Turnbull also wished him luck when he re-contests for the seat of Warringah in the upcoming election.

Until then, let’s just file this one under “Reasons I’m Glad Tony Abbott Isn’t Prime Minister” and take solace in the little things.