Peter Costello has all but ruled out running for the Liberal leadership. “I’m not seeking the Liberal Party leadership,” the former treasurer said in an interview. “They say: ‘Oh we’ve had a bad week, better bring Costello back.’ I think that’s basically what happened. And I said: ‘No, I’m not seeking the leadership, I don’t want the leadership.’

With the outcome of the Western Australian election in doubt and upheavals in New South Wales, the aftershocks of the weekend’s ruptures in the Labor Party will be felt in Canberra. But other parties also have their problems. From coast-to-coast Labor governments to coast-to-coast confusion has taken a mere 10 months.

While the conservative side of politics considers abandoning economic credibility for populism, voters are growing wary - if not weary - of the Rudd style. The early, euphoric symbolism of ratifying Kyoto and saying Sorry is being displaced by a harsh reality that Rudd is no messiah.

This week was a time for new beginnings. In the US, Barack Obama accepted the Democratic Party nomination, while Republican John McCain the little-known Sarah Palin as his running mate. In Australia, the Liberal leadership speculation entered an even more confusing stage, while the Labor Party outlined a number of new policies.

Kevin Rudd is determined to be different, to live up to his promise of being a fresh politician who not only has new ideas but also sticks to what he says. What’s more, he is not just making this comparison with John Howard and the previous government.

The head of the Australian Building and Construction Commission, John Lloyd, dismissed union claims that his investigators acted as secret police or that he should wind back his activities given that Labor won last November’s election. “My role is to ensure that the ABCC carries out its functions in accordance with the act,” he said.

Union leaders have unveiled plans for a three-week advertising blitz highlighting the fact that the Australian Building and Construction Commission is empowered to fine individual workers up to $22,000 for stopping work, or jail them for six months for simply refusing to answer questions about union activities.

Rebel Labor MPs have raised concerns about the Australian Building Construction Commission, as well as the welfare payment plan. But the Government defended both measures, arguing that it had flagged the welfare reforms in the May budget and that it had promised to retain the ABCC until 2010 at last year’s election.

This week was a week of number twos on a variety of fronts. In the US, Joe Biden became Barack Obama’s new sidekick, while in Australia, the minor parties in the Senate geared up to take on their new roles as second fiddles. Meanwhile, in the entertainment world, ‘Stargate Atlantis’ was cancelled and replaced by ‘Stargate Universe’.

Not only is Brendan Nelson advocating big budget cuts, he is proposing the spending of billions more on pensions. Every time, however, he attacks the Rudd Government for dudding pensioners, he is indirectly accusing the Howard government of intending to do the very same thing, simply because Labor pilfered John Howard’s $4 billion pensioner policy during the last election campaign, embellished it a little, and then implemented in it full in the budget.