The Australian's Cut and Paste with a bit on the ABC, Labor Mates and their respect for our Military.

ABC RN Breakfast yesterday:

FRAN Kelly: The question of patriotism and politicisation of the military exploded in the federal parliament yesterday. Stephen Conroy lit the spark when he accused ... Lieutenant General Angus Campbell of being guilty of a political cover-up.

Respect! Bill Shorten, January 16:

ONE thing I do want to make very clear here, though, I and the entire Labor Party respect the work of our defence forces.

ABC RN Breakfast yesterday:

KELLY: We just heard Bill Shorten ... sounding stronger than I think any of his parliamentary performances have sounded to date ... he condemned the, quote, sanctimonious finger-wagging, lecture-giving, sermonising, false patriotism where those opposite would seek to use the military as a stick to beat Labor about their head with ...

Channel Ten’s Paul Bongiorno: ... what I think Bill Shorten brought out today was, in fact, what we’ve got in Operation Sovereign Borders is a huge misapplication of our military ... there is no doubt that our military are being used in broader political purposes.

Bongiorno, Ten News, July 7, 2010:

JULIA Gillard was shoring up Labor’s political defences in Darwin, piped on board a patrol boat commanded by a woman ... Along for the ride, David Bradbury, his western Sydney seat under siege from voters worried about refugees. A perfect picture opportunity for his election brochures.

Bill Shorten, Wednesday:

PHOTO ops on warships with ministers do not equate to a ... policy.

Blame them both! Back to RN Breakfast, yesterday:

KELLY: I think it’s fair to say, though, there’s a culture of secrecy amongst our military, too, and it’s often criticised, our military won’t tell us things that other militaries in the same field of war will disclose to their citizens. So I think both cultures perhaps have elements of that ... the Coalition when in opposition ... did say a three-star general would be in control and ... there was concern that would mean the politicisation of the military. I think what you’re saying is that’s exactly what’s come to pass.

ONE thing I do want to make very clear here, though, I and the entire Labor Party respect the work of our defence forces.   Bill Shorten, February 2014.

Here is former PM Julia Gillard's respect for the Defence Forces on show in the 2010 Anzac Day Parade.   Note the zip-up green tracksuit top, and the red shoes and gloves.

Regular readers of this site will have seen similar shots of the 2010 Anzac Day parade here .

Many of our readers recalled the horrible protests against our returned men and serving soldiers, like me, in the Melbourne 1984 Anzac Day parade - reported here.

While we had reported on the 2010 Anzac Day parade and Ms Gillard's dress sense, I was recently sent these photos of the 2009 Anzac Day parade featuring those red shoes and gloves.

There's Ms Gillard with her mate and former boss John Brumby and his mate Simon Overland wearing the policeman's costume.

The RSL was sufficiently concerned about Ms Gillard's lack of respect for our dead to say this of her in 2009:

Remembrance Day: RSL slams Gillard's absence

Date

November 12,  2009

But our former PM's lack of respect for diggers was lost on the trip to China, where she found some good clothes to go out and see the People's Republic Army.