Tony Abbott Speaks Out Over Headbutt Incident

Tony Abbott said he's "entirely unscathed" after being headbutted while walking the streets of Hobart yesterday.

The former PM had just left The Examiner offices with senator Eric Abetz about 4:30pm, when he claims a gentleman sang out "Hey Tony!".

"I turned around, he said 'I wanna shake your hand.", I saw him coming towards me, I held out my hand, he grabbed my hand and it turned into a headbutt," Abbott said on Friday.

"Now it wasn't a very effective headbutt obviously, but it certainly was a headbutt.

"I pushed him away, a staff member grappled with him briefly then he scampered off saying 'F this and f that, you deserve it because of what you've said'. He was of course wearing a 'yes' badge."

Abbott said he's disturbed that supporters are behaving this way.

"There was a lot of talk from the yes side of this, that the plebiscite would produce ugliness," he said.

"There it no doubt that there had been some ugliness, but I'm sad to say nearly all of it seems to be coming from one side and that is the people that tell us that love is love."

"I'm not sure that love is exactly love. Certainly there are many kinds of love, but there's not much love coming from some of the 'yes' quarters, towards people who have the temerity to disagree.

"It seems if you speak out for a concept of marriage that has stood time of memorial, you risk being headbutted in the street. This is one of the many reasons we should think long and hard, before going down this path.

"All of us want to be decent, kind, caring and loving to our gay friends and family but that doesn't mean that we have to agree with the activists, and change a definition of marriage that has stood the time of memorial."