As the family of a fallen serviceman joined the chorus of outrage about a TV satire that depicts Julia Gillard having sex draped in the Australian flag, the Prime Minister herself said she would not be watching the show.
High ratings were expected for the third episode of At HomeWith Julia, due to air on the ABC last night. Advance publicity about the sex scene - featuring Gillard in a clinch with her partner, Tim Mathieson, on her office floor - sparked an outcry by Labor and Coalition politicians, as well as some media commentators.
Yesterday the parents of an army officer killed in Afghanistan, Lieutenant Marcus Case, condemned the ABC, saying they were "disgusted at the use of the Australian flag in such a disrespectful manner". In a letter to the Herald-Sun, they added: "We should remember the number of servicemen, our son included, who have given their lives defending the true significance and meaning [of the flag]." Other critics have called the four-part series unfunny and sexist.
Gillard said she had watched the first episode and found "aspects" of it amusing, but would not be tuning in for the latest instalment. Questioned about it in a Nine Network interview yesterday, she said: "I won't be watching it and I'm not intending to comment on it. I've got some bigger things on my mind."
Some Coalition MPs have called for a review of ABC funding, with a National Party MP, John Forrest, lambasting the "desecration" of the flag as "sick".
