Easy enough for Miss Australia - Kristina Keneally's cheap gibe insults Kokoda sacrifice

Daily Telegraph ^ | 10th June 2010 | Angela Kamper

[naturalman1975]

A CHEAP remark aimed at belittling her political rival has backfired on NSW Premier Kristina Keneally, leaving her under attack from the unlikely alliance of Diggers and a charity queen.

Ms Keneally yesterday mocked Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell for walking PNG's Kododa Track, saying, "Well, so did Miss Australia - so congratulations, Barry."

But the swipe by the American-born Premier only denigrates the honour of those who fought the Japanese there, the four Australians who died walking the 96km track last year and Miss World Australia 2007 Caroline Pemberton.

"Obviously she hasn't done the trek herself to be making those comments," said Ms Pemberton, who has also climbed Mt Everest and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity.

"To bring up Kokoda in jest is not only offensive to our Diggers, it's offensive to all Australians. Probably because she's got an American background she doesn't know what it means to trek it."

[naturalman1975]

[allmost]

Pics?

[naturalman1975]

[skeeter]

Insults Kododa Sacrifice? As if there's no difference between walking the trail under fire, with a minimum of rations & carrying 120 lbs of gear, and walking it on a lark during peacetime with all the amenities of a modern backpacker.

It doesn't take too much intelligence to be able to discern the intent of the comment. Dunno anything at all about these politicians, but this story itself is a cheap shot.

[DuncanWaring]

No. 1 Enfields?

[naturalman1975]

Kokoda is a pilgrimage for Australians.

You don’t make jokes about walking the track, anymore than an American politician would make a joke about Gettysburg.

Besides, even just walking it is a significant endeavour. Four Australians died doing it last year. Nearly 100 kilometres over mountainous terrain. People walk it for a reason.

No, it doesn’t compare to what the soldiers did. But you don’t make jokes about it.

[naturalman1975]

Yes - Rifle No.1 Mk III. Australia retained it as the standard issue infantry rifle until Korea.

[skeeter]

I'll defer to your understanding of Australian culture.

The story still reeks of political opportunism, though.

[ltc8k6]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokoda_Track_campaign

[ltc8k6]

http://kokoda.commemoration.gov.au/four-peoples-at-war/americans-at-kokoda.php

[happinesswithoutpeace]

bump

[truthguy]

Most Americans think the war in the Pacific was an almost total American affair. Not so by a long shot. We could not have had a better ally than Australia. The Australian Troops were some of the best troops in WW2. Their heroic battle on the Kokoda Trail is a part of the Pacific Campaign that most Americans don't know about but should. If the Japanese could not have been turned back by the determined Australian Troops, Port Moresby would have fallen along with all of New Guinea. It could have been a disaster if that happened. But it didn't happen and this is story that needs more attention. In a way it was as important as Guadalcanal.

Does anyone on FR know of any movies made about this battle? If so, I'd like to check them out.

[naturalman1975]

There's a 2006 Australian movie called Kokoda. Pretty good.

[tet68]

There’s a great scene in Kokoda where one of the guys
wants to stop so he can poop, he’s got dysentery and
the guy behind him on the trail takes his bayonet and
slits the guys shorts so he won’t have to stop and
as they continue on you notice that they all have slit
shorts.

Dysentery no fun, had it in Nam.

[naturalman1975]

Stories like that make me glad I was in the Navy. :)

[ltc8k6]

I had never heard of it, and I am a WW2 buff...

It sounds a bit like commenting on Bataan...

[SlowBoat407]

"To bring up Kokoda in jest is not only offensive to our Diggers, it's offensive to all Australians. Probably because she's got an American background she doesn't know what it means to trek it."

Huh? Ms. Pemberton, don't alienate an entire nation just to take a shot at someone else.

[Heatseeker]

I haven’t followed it all that closely but with Rudd/Labor crashing at the polls and the Greens rising, doesn’t this make a Red/Green coalition more likely? Or something similar to the new UK situation? Or (hopefully) can the Liberals/Nats pull it out?

[Logic n' Reason]

Dysentery no fun, had it in Nam.

As did I...got it from eating local "produce" (I think). Went from 165 to 102 lbs. inside of three weeks.
Was two days from being sent stateside when the tide turned, the fever broke, what I ate stayed inside.

Absolute bummer....sent me right back to work!