Australia row over PM Gillard 'small breasts' menu
Prime Minister Julia Gillard - Australia's first female leader - has not yet commented on the menu
Australian opposition leader Tony Abbott has condemned a menu distributed at a party fundraiser that made crude and derogatory comments about Prime Minister Julia Gillard's body.
The menu was presented at a dinner for former minister and Liberal National Party election candidate Mal Brough.
It offered up "Julia Gillard Kentucky Fried Quail - Small Breasts, Huge Thighs and a Big Red Box".
Mr Abbott condemned the incident, describing the menu as "tacky".
"I condemn it, as Mal Brough has. We should all be bigger and better than that," he said. "We should be appealing to every Australian's best self as we go into this election."
There was no immediate comment from Ms Gillard, who on Tuesday warned of the possible erosion of women's rights under an Abbott-led government, prompting a fierce rebuttal from the opposition.
Ms Gillard had suggested in a speech at a fundraising function that an Abbott win would see women's voices "banished" from political life and abortion become "the political plaything of men who think they know better".
The deputy opposition leader later called her comments a "crude political ploy" aimed to divert attention from "self-inflicted political woes".
Mr Abbott - a Catholic - has in recent years distanced himself from comments he made in 2004 calling Australia's abortion rate a "national tragedy".
'No recall'
Australia's general election is due to be held on 14 September, with an opposition win widely expected.
Ms Gillard says she will lead the Labor Party into the polls, despite ongoing speculation that some party lawmakers wish to replace her with the man she ousted, Kevin Rudd.
The menu in question also mocked Mr Rudd and two other Labor lawmakers, as well as the Greens.
The dinner, in late March, was attended by about 20 people, with shadow treasurer Joe Hockey as the guest of honour.
Both he and Mr Brough - a Liberal lawmaker who served as a minister under John Howard and is seeking a return to office in a Queensland safe seat - have told local media they do not recall having seen the menu.
Mr Brough said the text was drawn up by a non-party member who was "deeply apologetic", the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
Ms Gillard is Australia's first female prime minister, a role she has held since ousting Mr Rudd in 2010.
Last year, she sparked headlines around the world with a fiery speech in parliament accusing Mr Abbott of misogyny - a move that prompted Australia's leading dictionary to redefine the word.
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