Cover-up worse than PM's bullying: Libs

The government's attempt to cover up an incident in which the prime minister reduced
a flight attendant to tears is worse than the outburst itself, the opposition says.
Kevin Rudd apologised last week for a tirade in which he yelled at a 23-year-old
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) female attendant because he was not served the
meal he wanted during a flight from Papua New Guinea to Australia in January.
Mr Rudd's press secretary Lachlan Harris reportedly tried to deny the incident ever
happened, before his boss admitted it at the conclusion of the G20 summit in London
on Thursday.
Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey said while politicians should always try to
be polite, Labor's deception over the matter was worse than the spat itself.
"What was more alarming out of that entire incident, not just going off the handle
at the RAAF staff, but the fact that his office was lying to the Australian people
about what actually happened," Mr Hockey told Network Ten on Sunday.
"This illustrates a pattern of behaviour out of his office that they are prepared to
mislead the Australian people as to the truth of the matter."
Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop said Mr Rudd was a bully.
"It reflects very badly on him," she told ABC Television.
"This is a very powerful man in a privileged position bullying a female Defence
member whose job it is to wait on the prime minister as he travels around the world
on a taxpayer-funded private jet.
"That kind of bullying that reduced her to tears and ended up in an incident report
being filed ... would not be accepted in any workplace across Australia."
Opposition frontbencher Nick Minchin said Australians were now seeing another side
to the prime minister.
"He's been quite appropriately nicknamed Kevin Rude ... as a result of this
episode," Senator Minchin told Sky News.
"Those of us who work and live in Parliament House have known for years that there's
two sides to Kevin Rudd, and that behind closed doors he's prone to temper tantrums
and this sort of belittling and very bad behaviour with his own staff.
"For him to reduce a 23-year-old air hostess to tears because of a temper tantrum
over his meal is completely and utterly unforgivable.
"I think Australians are now seeing gradually another side to the bloke they elected
prime minister 18 months ago."
Mr Rudd apologised for the incident in London last week.
"As I recall it, there was a flight, I think from Port Moresby, and I had a
discussion with, I think, one of the attendants on the provision of food. It didn't
last very long and if anyone was offended by that, including the attendant
concerned, of course I apologise," he said.