Two thousand and twelve was a bumper year for the breaking of political conventions in Australia. For the first time, a national political leader was investigated and pursued for her professional conduct before winning elected office. Led by the Australian newspaper, a group of right-wing fanatics ran a smear campaign against Julia Gillard targeting her time working for the Slater & Gordon law firm in the early 1990s. No other prime minister has been treated this way, judged on their pre-parliamentary career rather than the traditional focus on parliamentary service.
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