Photoshoot row: Julia Gillard ridiculed for knitting royal baby kangaroo

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 the Australian
media, who have called it "contrived" and "remarkable". Commentators
have pointed out that Gillard has traditionally rejected feminine
presentations.

News Limited columnist Andrew Bolt said Gillard was "giving
encouragement to young female politicians by plying a hobby now
synonymous with mad old aunts." Nationals Senator Fiona Nash told
Fairfax it looked like "a bit of a stunt" that showed "a lack of
connection" with the Australian public. While senior Liberal
Christopher Pyne said to reporters in Canberra: "We know the prime
minister is good at spinning a yarn, now we have a picture to prove
it."

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 an accompanying interview feature published online Gillard spoke on
a range of issues, including her career legacy, family, September's
federal election and her republican views.

She said 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
Williamand 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."

Like much in Australian politics, the origins of the idea for the
knitting photo shoot have been hotly disputed.

The Australian Women's Weekly article said that "having Ms Gillard
pose with needles was not The Weekly's idea. Her office came up with
it," quoting media director John McTernan [a former adviser to Tony Blair]
as saying "it was a no-brainer".

The prime minister's press office responded on their blog, saying that
they had suggested to the magazine that her gift for the royal baby
might be of interest, but that it was the magazine which requested
Gillard knit and bring Reuben along for the shoot.

More than 400 photos were taken and Women's Weekly had complete
creative control over the shoot, it continued.

In response to that blog post, Australian Women's Weekly acknowledged
the prime minister's office's denial of the suggestion but said, "in
an email to the Weekly a staffer clearly outlines the idea of a
knitting pattern".