Australian MPs attack television channel for satire displaying Julia Gillard draped in an Australian flag after having sex in her office
Australian MPs attack television channel for satire displaying Julia Gillard draped in an Australian flag after having sex in her office
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Raising eyebrows: Australian lawmakers claim the show displaying
Gillard in a compromising position is offensive. However, Gillard and her
partner have made no comment. pic/getty images
The scene will air on ABC's At Home with Julia.
Actors playing the prime minister and her partner Tim Mathieson canoodle on the floor of the PM's office, using the flag as a sheet.
'The last straw'
"Having sex in the prime minister's office under the Australian flag is the last straw for me," Nationals MP John Forrest said.
"I am sick, I am offended, and we should take a stand."
Fellow Nationals member Bruce Scott said he found the program offensive and disrespectful to the office of prime minister -- "no matter who the prime minister is".
"How do parents then tell their children they have to be respectful to their elders and to leaders?" Scott said.
However, ABC defended the scene and the use of the flag. "If it's ok for others to drape themselves in our flag
for all manner of occasions, I really don't see why it can't be draped over our prime minister as a symbol of love," a spokesman for the comedy said. But monarchist Professor David Flint said it showed a lack of respect.
"This is probably going a bit far," he said. "I think a bit more discretion when using the flag is appropriate, even when you are trying to make a joke."
There is no law against desecrating the Australian flag, but government protocol says it should not "fall or lie on the ground".
Meanwhile, Gillard declined to comment on the episode.
Gillard's stepdaughter's wild ways
In 2010, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's wild child stepdaughter appeared in a raunchy photoshoot wearing only a bikini and the Australian flag.
The tattooed New York-based stylist Staci Child, who is the daughter of Gillard's partner Tim Mathieson, posed for Zoo Weekly magazine and says her father loved the photos.
"I think Julia will think it's a very Australian thing to do," she added.
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