THEAUSTRALIAN REPORT: JULIA Gillard and Tony Abbott have called a halt to hostilities over the festive season.
The Prime Minister has spent the Christmas break with her parents, Moira and John, with some additional visits to relatives, while the Opposition Leader spent Christmas at his home on Sydney's upper north shore.
He briefly spiced up the break with a trip to Melbourne for the first day of the Boxing Day Test.
Mr Abbott has not had any public engagements since a brief Christmas Eve press conference where he attacked the government's health reforms.
He has so far taken a low-key approach to the rest of the holidays, having scheduled some leave.
His days have begun with a surf and he has been doing some paperwork and reading, and working his way through a long list of domestic duties that have been planned for him by Mrs Abbott, whose parents have been visiting the couple.
"It's a very special part of who I am and who my family is that we get to come together in South Australia each year, no matter how far afield we may have been in the 12 months in between," she said.Ms Gillard yesterday attended Adelaide's Proclamation Day celebration, where she told the crowd that every Christmas of her life had been spent in the city since she migrated to Australia at the age of four.
"Hindmarsh (SA's first governor, John Hindmarsh) proclaimed South Australia 174 years ago.
"My wish for 2011 is that each of us makes our own proclamation . . . that we will dedicate our best efforts for our state and country in the year ahead, confident in its future as we should be."
The Australian understands Ms Gillard has spent her time with her parents catching up on some paperwork and watching the odd movie.
Having returned from leave in the middle of the month after the Christmas Island asylum-seeker tragedy, she is expected to remain on active duty over the holiday season.
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