Photoshoot row: Julia Gillard ridiculed for knitting royal baby kangaroo:
Australian prime minister under fire for incongruous photos showing her knitting a present for William and Kate's baby
The Australian prime minister, Julia Gillard, has whipped up a storm after appearing in the Australian Women's Weekly knitting a toy kangaroo for the royal baby.
The photoshoot depicts the prime minister in an armchair, surrounded by balls of wool, with her dog Reuben at her feet.
The pictures have sparked controversy in parts of Australian media, who have called it "contrived" and "remarkable". Commentators have pointed out that Gillard has traditionally rejected feminine presentations. The photoshoot was at the suggestion of her advisers.
Sydney's Daily Telegraph captioned the photo: "This image of the prime minister is not digitally altered but a photo actually arranged by Ms Gillard and her chief spin doctor John McTernan [a former adviser to Tony Blair] for the Australian Women's Weekly".
Gillard has previously been criticised for her perceived lack of homemaking instincts. In 2005 much was made of a photograph in her sparse-looking kitchen with an empty fruit bowl on the table.
Defenders have pointed out that the opposition leader, Tony Abbott, is routinely photographed taking part in his hobbies such as cycling and working with his local surf club.
In the accompanying interview – published in the magazine on Wednesday – Gillard spoke on a range of issues, including her career legacy, family, September's federal election and her republican views.
She told the magazine she would look back on her time as Australia's first female prime minister with "a sense of pride and achievement," particularly for her work in health and education.
During the knitting photoshoot, Gillard remarked "this feels slightly absurd".
She said she decided to knit the kangaroo for the baby of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge as a gift, saying it would be "a cute project to work on". She said she usually knitted for babies as the smaller projects meant she had time to finish them in her busy schedule.
"I guess my life is full of the engagements that politics brings and some are them are quite combative engagements," she said.
"I don't shy away from that. If there is something I hope I have done for the image of women in public life it is that we can go into an adversarial environment like parliament and we can dominate it and conquer it.
"But that's not all of me. [Knitting the kangaroo] is an opportunity to show a side of me. I can't imagine [political commentator] Laurie Oakes saying: 'Hmmm, knitting patterns. What are you working on at the moment?'"
Gillard also spoke candidly about her family.
Of her father John, who died in September, Gillard said: "Dad was incredibly proud of me becoming prime minister, and incredibly proud, I think, that it was him that sparked the interest in values, politics, current affairs, and particularly education."
Not long after her father's death, the radio broadcaster Alan Jones told a lunch attended by Liberal Party members John Gillard must have died "of shame".
In the intervew Gillard also responded to last year's jibe from Germaine Greer referring to her "big arse" on ABC TV's Q&A program, saying the statement "demeaned her more than it demeaned me".
"I do take a lot of pride in being someone who not only fought for equal opportunities for women," Gillard said.
"But for her, given everything she stands for, everything she would have inspired, I just thought it was stupid."
Knitting the kangaroo for the royal baby did not clash with her views that Australia should become a republic, she said.
"I campaigned for a yes case. We will get there again," she said.
"There is a real sense of respect for the Queen, so I do think a natural moment to look again will be when her reign comes to an end.
"Prince William and Kate, and their child will still be personalities in Australia; people will still follow their lives with interest."
The Australian prime minister, Julia Gillard, has whipped up a storm after appearing in the Australian Women's Weekly knitting a toy kangaroo for the royal baby.
The photoshoot depicts the prime minister in an armchair, surrounded by balls of wool, with her dog Reuben at her feet.
The pictures have sparked controversy in parts of Australian media, who have called it "contrived" and "remarkable". Commentators have pointed out that Gillard has traditionally rejected feminine presentations. The photoshoot was at the suggestion of her advisers.
Sydney's Daily Telegraph captioned the photo: "This image of the prime minister is not digitally altered but a photo actually arranged by Ms Gillard and her chief spin doctor John McTernan [a former adviser to Tony Blair] for the Australian Women's Weekly".
Gillard has previously been criticised for her perceived lack of homemaking instincts. In 2005 much was made of a photograph in her sparse-looking kitchen with an empty fruit bowl on the table.
Defenders have pointed out that the opposition leader, Tony Abbott, is routinely photographed taking part in his hobbies such as cycling and working with his local surf club.
In the accompanying interview – published in the magazine on Wednesday – Gillard spoke on a range of issues, including her career legacy, family, September's federal election and her republican views.
She told the magazine she would look back on her time as Australia's first female prime minister with "a sense of pride and achievement," particularly for her work in health and education.
During the knitting photoshoot, Gillard remarked "this feels slightly absurd".
She said she decided to knit the kangaroo for the baby of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge as a gift, saying it would be "a cute project to work on". She said she usually knitted for babies as the smaller projects meant she had time to finish them in her busy schedule.
"I guess my life is full of the engagements that politics brings and some are them are quite combative engagements," she said.
"I don't shy away from that. If there is something I hope I have done for the image of women in public life it is that we can go into an adversarial environment like parliament and we can dominate it and conquer it.
"But that's not all of me. [Knitting the kangaroo] is an opportunity to show a side of me. I can't imagine [political commentator] Laurie Oakes saying: 'Hmmm, knitting patterns. What are you working on at the moment?'"
Gillard also spoke candidly about her family.
Of her father John, who died in September, Gillard said: "Dad was incredibly proud of me becoming prime minister, and incredibly proud, I think, that it was him that sparked the interest in values, politics, current affairs, and particularly education."
Not long after her father's death, the radio broadcaster Alan Jones told a lunch attended by Liberal Party members John Gillard must have died "of shame".
In the intervew Gillard also responded to last year's jibe from Germaine Greer referring to her "big arse" on ABC TV's Q&A program, saying the statement "demeaned her more than it demeaned me".
"I do take a lot of pride in being someone who not only fought for equal opportunities for women," Gillard said.
"But for her, given everything she stands for, everything she would have inspired, I just thought it was stupid."
Knitting the kangaroo for the royal baby did not clash with her views that Australia should become a republic, she said.
"I campaigned for a yes case. We will get there again," she said.
"There is a real sense of respect for the Queen, so I do think a natural moment to look again will be when her reign comes to an end.
"Prince William and Kate, and their child will still be personalities in Australia; people will still follow their lives with interest."
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