Date-gate over Gillard's Tampa timing
Former prime minister John Howard has taken issue with fellow ex-PM Julia Gillard's critique of his "hairy-chested" approach to asylum seekers more than 10 years ago.
In particular, Mr Howard is unhappy with her grasp on history.
Mr Howard has reportedly demanded a correction from the former Labor PM after her new book, My Story, accused him of using the September 11 terror attacks to win public support for the hard line he took toward the 2001 Tampa refugees incident.
The MV Tampa was a Norwegian cargo ship that picked up refugees near Australia but was boarded by Australian SAS soldiers when it attempted to deliver them to land.
In her book, which was released in September, Ms Gillard wrote that "after the terrorist shock of 9/11 and in the atmosphere of fear that it created, Howard took a hairy-chested political approach and deployed our elite military forces to stop a Norwegian freighter, the Tampa, from bringing rescued asylum-seekers to our shore".
But Australia's commandos seized control of the Tampa on August 29, 2001, nearly two weeks before the terror attacks in the US.
Mr Howard's office said no further comment would be made on Wednesday after he was reported in The Australian as rejecting any suggestion his government "played off Tampa or the September 11 attacks against each other".
He told the News Corp Australia outlet Ms Gillard had "her chronology wrong and should correct the claims in the book".
A spokesman for Ms Gillard said there was "no comment on the matter today".
Ms Gillard is on a promotional tour for her book.
