When Ms Gillard called Senator Trish Crossin in to tell her she was being from her job as Senator for the Northern Territory to make way for a bullet point on Gillard's CV, Trish was understandably angry.

Trish Crossin decided to go public and tip a bucket on Gillard.   What's remarkable about Trish's interview with Sam Maiden on 7 February this year, is that it was prepared for, Trish knew it was on the record - and yet Trish Crossin found nothing unusual or embarrassing in telling the world that she'd asked for a directorship or an ambassadorship in circumstances that reek of "entitlement".   The culture of the Labor Party is laid bare in these few sentences:

Instead, Ms Crossin said Ms Gillard again insisted it (sacking Crossin to make way for an Aborigine who is a woman) was about her "legacy" as Labor leader. "I said, 'Is there something for me - a board position, an agency, an ambassadorship'," Ms Crossin said.

"She said, 'I am the Prime Minister, I don't get involved in organising those sort of arrangements'. I said to her, 'Well, that can't be possible you are just about to organise a Senate preselection unilaterally. And surely if you wanted people to go willingly you would arrange for life after politics for them'.

"That's when she said to me, 'I've got nothing to offer you. I am offering you nothing'. People have said to me, what are you getting from this? Where are you going? And when I have said to them 'well, nothing, absolutely nothing', they are quite surprised.

"They are shocked at the brutality of it".

Here's today's report from the Daily Telegraph - the best independent board directors available for these boards, for sure!

Tony Abbott warns Gillard government over key appointments before September 14 poll

TONY Abbott has warned Julia Gillard against racing to appoint Australia's next Governor-General before the election and is threatening to overturn key Labor appointments if the Coalition wins power.

In a dramatic escalation of pre-poll tensions, the Opposition leader plans to directly raise his concerns over Australia's head of state with Ms Gillard, amid fears Labor wants to lock-in a raft of "jobs for the boys"- style appointments.

An investigation by News Limited can reveal an unprecedented number of one-time Labor MPs and union officials have been appointed to key Commonwealth agencies and statutory bodies, often on lucrative salaries.

See the list of 36 jobs here.

At the same time, former Labor Victorian premiers John Brumby and Steve Bracks have been touted as candidates for one of Australia's high-profile overseas posts, Consul-General in New York. The plum role comes with an annual base salary of around $250,000 and luxurious living conditions in a $25 million apartment on the East River.

Name/ Background/ Appointment/ Commenced/ Salary

Arch Bevis/ Former parliamentary secretary for defence/ Anzac Centenary Advisory Board member/ August 2012/ ?

Arch Bevis/ Former parliamentary secretary for defence/ Review of Student Support Services Guidelines chair/ February 2013/ ?

Arch Bevis/ Former parliamentary secretary for defence/ Defence Remuneration Tribunal member/ May 2011/

Arch Bevis/ Former parliamentary secretary for defence/ Defence Housing Authority board member/ October 2011/ $57,600

Anna Bligh/ Former Qld premier/ Medibank Private board member/ December 2012/ $44,000-$89,000*

Anna Booth/ Former union official/ FWA deputy president/ February 2010/ ?

Steve Bracks/Former Vic Premier/Considered for New York Consul General

John Brumby/ Former Vic premier/ COAG Reform Council chair/December 2012/Also sounded out for New York Consul General/ ?

Bob Debus/ Former NSW and federal MP/ Land Sector Carbon and Biodiversity Board chair/ November 2011/ ?

Cameron Dick/ Former Qld attorney-general/ Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission chair/ November 2012/ $162,000-$192,000

Verity Firth/ Former NSW education minister/ Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care board member/ April 2013/ ?

Andrew Fraser/ Former Qld treasurer/ Australian Sports Commission board member/ November 2012/ up to $60,000

Andrew Fraser/ Former Qld treasurer/ Moorebank Intermodal Company board member/ December 2012/ ?

Geoff Gallop/ Former WA premier/ International Education Advisory Council board/ October 2011/ ?

Geoff Gallop/ Former WA premier/ Australia Awards Board chair/ May 2011/ ?

Leigh Johns/One-time Labor candidate/ Fair Work commissioner/ March 2013

Kate Jones/ Former Qld environment minister/ Landcare Council board member/ December 2012/ ?

Duncan Kerr/ Former federal justice minister/ Federal Court Judge and Administrative Appeals Tribunal President/ May 2012/ $400,000

Craig Knowles/Former NSW Government Minister/Chair Murray Darling Basin Authority/February 2011/

Jeff Lawrence/ Former ACTU president/ Fair Work Commission deputy president/ March 2013/ ?

Tim Lee/ Former Australian Services Union general manager and Labor staffer/ Fair Work Australia commissioner/ September 2011/ ?

Sue Lines/ United Voice assistant national secretary and hopes to fill Chris Evan's senate vacancy/ Aged Care Finance Authority board member/ August 2012/ ?

Paul Lucas/ Former Qld deputy premier/ Air Services Australia board member/ July 2012/ ?

Sheila McHale/ Former WA tourism minister/ Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission board member/ February 2013/ ?

Bernard Murphy/ Labor-aligned firm Maurice Blackburn chair/ Federal Court Judge/ April 2011/ $400,000

Roger Price/Former Federal MP/Consul General Chicago,USA/2011

Mike Rann/Former South Australian Premier and ALP National President/

Andrew Refshauge/ Former NSW deputy premier/ Australian Institute of Health and Welfare chair/ July 2011/ ?

Andrew Refshauge/ Former NSW deputy premier/ reappointed Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency chair/ July 2012/ ?

Bernie Riordan/ former official at Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union, and Electrical Trades Union/ FWA commissioner/ February 2012

Justice Iain Ross/ Victorian Judge and former ACTU deputy secretary/ Fair Work Australia president/ February 2012/ ?

Jon Stanhope/ Former ACT chief minister/ Indian Ocean Territories of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands administrator/ August 2012/ $226,340

John Thwaites/ Former Vic deputy premier/ National Sustainability Council chair/ October 2012/ ?

John Thwaites/ Former Vic deputy premier/ Australian Building Codes Board chair/ November 2011/ ?

Christian Zahra/ Former federal MP/ Regional Development Australia Fund Advisory Panel chair/ WHEN/ ?