Highly public vicious attacks were then launched in the federal Parliament. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Deputy Julie Bishop had swallowed both the original false story in The Australian and the media’s misinterpretation of the PM’s assertion that it was wrong.
‘There is a pattern of behaviour emerging that borders on the pathological,’ Bishop claimed in what is now a breathtaking slander. ‘The Prime Minister has turned denying the undeniable into an art form.’
Outside Parliament, Abbott said, ‘It's obvious that this Prime Minister was being loose with the truth in the Parliament yesterday and it's obvious that the Prime Minister's choice for Foreign Minister has been vetoed by the faceless men of the Labor Party.’
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No. Gillard had not been untruthful at any stage. And no, there was no veto. Those that were lying last week were Abbott and Bishop. And most of the Canberra press.
Is it too much to hope for retractions and apologies this week? How will this impact deliberations on Mr Finkelstein’s report? We shall soon see.
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About the Author
Alan Austin is an Australian freelance journalist currently based in Nîmes in the South of France. His special interests are overseas development, Indigenous affairs and the interface between the religious communities and secular government. As a freelance writer, Alan has worked for many media outlets over the years and been published in most Australian newspapers. He worked for eight years with ABC Radio and Television’s religious broadcasts unit and seven years with World Vision. His most recent part-time appointment was with the Uniting Church magazine Crosslight.
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