Worse than a war zone ... Ross Schultz's Nikon D2h camera and 80-400mm lens which was destroyed by ex-Labor leader Mark Latham. Picture: ROSS SCHULTZ (with a fresh camera)
Posted on 01/20/2006 4:33:14 PM PST by naturalman1975
THIS is what was left of a $12,000 camera after Mark Latham's meltdown outside a Hungry Jack's on the first anniversary of his exit as Labor leader.
Mr Latham smashed the camera into dozens of pieces - possibly with a sledgehammer - after attacking a Daily Telegraph photographer.
The Nikon camera is armour-plated and designed for use in war zones - but it was no match for the former Labor leader, who now faces calls to pay for the damage.
After sharing a hamburger with young sons Isaac and Oliver on Thursday, Mr Latham stole the camera from photographer Ross Schultz and then tried to king hit him when he was asked to return it.
Mr Schultz was last night considering assault charges against the former Labor leader, who has a history of violence.
Mr Latham was at it again yesterday, when he veered his car towards a TV crew outside his home at Glen Alpine.
"Latham backs out of the driveway and you can see the car swerving to the left and the mirror hits the cameraman," Seven Network's news chief Chris Willis said.
The Daily Telegraph was preparing an article to mark the first anniversary of Mr Latham's exit from politics when he exploded.
Since leaving politics Mr Latham enjoys an income of $75,000 a year - tax-free from his parliamentary pension for doing nothing.
In a rambling statement released yesterday through his literary agent Mary Cunnane, Mr Latham falsely accused this newspaper of targeting his children.
"Mr Latham has the right to protect his children from harassment," the statement said - despite the fact that The Daily Telegraph had no intention of publishing pictures of his children, whom he used to pose up for political photo shoots.
Mr Latham made the bizarre claim that The Daily Telegraph was "stalking" his family and "hiding in the bushes," even though the photographs were taken in broad daylight in a busy shopping centre car park.
The statement also claimed Mr Latham had lodged a formal complaint with Campbelltown police, but police had no record of any complaint yesterday.
Nikon distributor John Wallace said yesterday the ultra-tough camera must have been smashed with a heavy object such as a sledgehammer to end up in its current state.
"They're designed for Iraq and East Timor. It's pretty bullet-proof so for this camera to end up in pieces it must have been absolutely smashed," said Mr Wallace.
Mr Latham's former colleague Kevin Rudd expressed little sympathy for him yesterday and seemed eager to write off his time in the leadership as an aberration.
Mr Rudd, who was the main target of Mr Latham's bile in his largely fictitious Diaries, said the ALP was trying to move on.
"I think the best I can say about that is Mark Latham's about the past, we're all about the future," Mr Rudd said. "We all hope Mark will just get on with his life."
Australia seems to have dodged a bullet, given Mr. Latham's "prime ministerial temperament"...
beat on the brat, beat on the brat, beat on the brat with a baseball bat.
I also noticed that the article threw in that he's getting a $75,000 annual pension "for doing nothing" as if that somehow justifies hounding people until they finally get pissed off enough to do something.
Hungry Jacks is basically the Australian name for Burger King (when Burger King decided to open here, they found that name was already trademarked).
A King Hit - basically a punch with your entire body behind it - not just a jab, an attempt to try and truly put someone down.
Well, it was exactly a year after he'd left office - they were doing a 'Where is he now' type story - it's not like he's followed constantly.
Secondly, he has chosen to remain in the public eye - if he'd simply quietly retired, that would probably have been respected - he's chosen to release books and statements that have kept up his profile.
I don't think they should be photographing his kids, personally - but it has to be said, he does have a history of using them himself as photo props. And the photographer has said he wasn't photographing the kids anyway - just Mr Latham.
And I also personally think it's quite relevant that the Labor Party proposed this man to us as their candidate to lead this country - it doesn't speak well of their judgement.
Oh is that the reason for the difference? I always wondered. The one unique item I found there was the Aussie burger with and egg and beetroot added. At least you are spared the current creepy King ad campaign here in North America.
LOL....I was thinking..."why couldn't this have happened in the U.S. and the star player be Teddy Kennedy or John Kerry".
how sweet that would have been!
Yeah - a little local fish and chips shop had trademarked the name Burger King, and they couldn't use it - the guy who had bought the Australian franchise, Jack Cowin, chose to open as Hungry Jacks using his own name. Burger Kings opened at some airports (Airports were covered under a different franchise agreement).
A few years ago, the trademark lapsed and Burger King tried to get Cowin to rename all his restaurants - but he'd built up a lot of brand recognition over the years and refused. Burger King actually opened some Burger King's very near Hungry Jacks restaurants. Ultimately, Cowin won the court case that eventuated, and he and Burger King worked out a compromise - part of that was that (except for the Aussie Burger), Hungry Jacks would follow Burger King menus - most of the Burger Kings are now Hungry Jacks outlets.
Australian McDonalds now has the McOz, by the way - again, trying to replicate the traditional Australian fish and chips shop burger.
At least it wasn't a Canon!
Thanks for the explanation.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.