Greer attacks Irwin portrait
SERIAL Australian-hater Germaine Greer has described it as disgraceful that it has taken the Australian National Portrait Gallery six months to hang a portrait of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin - before having another crack at Australia.

Greer has also had another subtle attack on Irwin, describing his portrait as "unmanly".

While she commended the gallery for finally getting around to hanging Irwin's portrait – in the place her portrait once occupied – most of her article in London's Guardian was predictably spent defending her criticism of Irwin and complaining about the unfair treatment she believed she got following her comments in the days following Irwin's death in September last year.

"Lately someone has been throwing food at the windows of my house in England, mostly eggs," she sniffled, "sometimes jam doughnuts, once corned beef hash and shaved ham, and, this weekend, two dead rabbits."

Greer, who became famous for writing The Female Eunuch, has since made a career out of being an Australian that hates Australia.

She sensationally caused a stir in the days following Irwin's death by claiming the "animal world had finally got its revenge" on Irwin – a line she conviently failed to mention in her Guardian column.

Instead, she claims: "It is my judgment Irwin made a habit of, and a fortune by, intruding upon the steadily diminishing space available to wild creatures and that his intention was to demonstrate his power over them, in much the same way as lion-tamers used to do before what they did was recognised as cruelty".

She claims Irwin's death was no great loss to the conservation movement and that his approach was "counterproductive".

She also claims Irwin "made many Australians cringe".

Naturally enough, Greer has justified her claims by blaiming it on changes she believes she has seen in Australia – even though she has not lived in Australia for many years.

"As Australia gradually morphs into California," she writes, "it is losing its respect for honesty and directness."

While Greer did not complain about Irwin's portrait replacing her own, she did mock the portrait of Irwin that now hangs, in which he is captured with a female elephant called Siam from his Australia Zoo.

She claimed Irwin's right hand was "doing something invisible to the captive animal" before launching into Irwin, again.

Photographer Robin Sellick "besought Irwin to show his vulnerable, caring side, which Irwin did by tilting his head and simpering.

"His left thumb is hooked rather coyly in a pocket; his lime-green shirt is undone to the fourth button and pulled open to display his bosom in a manner not altogether manly."

This portrait of Steve Irwin is now hanging in the National Portrait Gallery.