Have you seen the latest Fairfax Nielsen polling? Labor is on 29% primary vote.

Juliar has sunk to new lows with male voters abandoning her and 50% (a 9 point lead) of voters preferring Abbott as PM.

It is looking like Abbott won't need a DD election to get control of both houses.

I am afraid Shadow Minister you over look the Elephant in the room.
You may get a job with Labors power brokers/owners.
The Senate.
What the polling also shows, apart from men supporting Dillard has dropped off the cliff 7% down.
And womens support is up by 1% .
Anti Labor feelings!
Along with the well known, even if you ignore it, dislike and trust of Abbott.
Threatens in my view, us all, Senate as is the case for all upper houses, is the rubbish dump of Australian Politics.
Hanson will win a seat, Katter may win 3, That silly old bloke building his own Titanic, it could be the same result for his fortune, will win some.

Why my concern?
Look closely at NSW, SEE THE LANDSLIDE VICTORY LIBERALS won, along with the Nationals pup.
Then see the acts of STUPIDITY the upper house forced on them, to get bills passed.
We live interesting times, ALP OWNERS/POWER BROKERS live in a sound proof bubble. I propose the three unwise Monkeys as their emblem.

All the Hoo Haa about "the menu" & how it was in bad taste, etc. I have just watched an episode of "The Hamster Wheel." "The Menu" has got nothing on it.

I still advocate getting rid of the entire Front Bench on both sides of Parliament in this next Election. That would go a long way to clearing out the crap Politicians in the Australia's Government we have to put up with at the moment. It just might frighten the one's left to sit up & take notice because they'd be next if they didn't perform to a decent standard.

'It was trite gossip-mongering unleashed as a ratings-grabber - nothing more, nothing less.'

It's commercial radio isn't it?

I really don't understand the fuss. I would agree that it wouldn't have necessarily happened to another PM, but people seem to be discounting the fact that these days everything is open slather. The idea of respect for the office of PM is about as relevant as cricket being a gentleman's game.

Really, what the hell is any PM,, male or female, doing whoring themselves on commercial radio. Par for the course for any 'celebrity' on such a medium, is to pass the test of being a good sport. That means humoring the inane questions about gossip and topics designed to titillate and be 'edgy'. Has anyone ever listened to this kind of show?

The problem is, the PM needs the radio more than, say, Chris Brown. So Browns publicist would not allow questions about his woman bashing, but the PMs publicist is in the whore position, so they have to take what they get. It's not as if she can threaten not to go on the show, as the audience is more interested in someone who has done something with their lives, perhaps won masterchef.

Apparently they agreed to 'candid'. That's like a red rag to a bull. I think on the whole they overestimated the gravity of the interview, and what possible candid topics people would be happy to ask a pollie.

Anyway, as a man who has started wearing blue ties, in a reclaim the tie protest over the PMs sexist comments, I think it's all a bit hypocritical for her to be upset. How one can hold the view that men cant relate to women in policy formation, but women can for men, I'll never know.

It was oh so offensive when she was critiqued for not being able to relate to family issues, but somehow her using the same logic to denounce all male politicians (or blue tie wearing ones) as not able to relate to womens issues is a-ok.

I don't know that I can agree with "The idea of respect for the office of PM is about as relevant as cricket being a gentleman's game."

It should be...

But as the level of respect for the office of the PM is set by our political leaders (of all sides) it has degenerated to become, as it is now, irrelevent.

Therefore, as Houellebecq stated, the situation they face is "...the PMs publicist is in the whore position, so they have to take what they get" and the PM just has to swallow it.

I have no respect for Gillard.
And non too for those who need to insult her with terms like witch and worse.
Did we hear the interview?
Can any of us remember the questioners morning breakfast show of years past?
King Billy COKE Bottle?
Deep in our national DNA we like humor and cheekiness.
Our failure PM farms the little things, introduces them, and then hopes we will take our eyes away from her.
Pathetic and not unlike Queen Victoria, or past Empresses she is best seen from behind, on her way out of politics.