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.
The story still reeks of political opportunism, though.