Victorian Andrew Robb has been given the elevated portfolio of infrastructure, federal-state relations and emissions trading. The former foreign affairs spokesman said the Opposition would develop policies that would challenge Labor’s approach on many issues. Mr Robb said today that he was well-placed to develop bold ideas in the area because Labor was failing to develop environmental policies with the economy front and centre.

The new Opposition Leader named sustainable development, in all areas including cities, as his key personal policy interest, signalling a dramatic departure from the direction of the Howard government, which saw no role for the commonwealth in urban affairs. But as Mr Turnbull trumpeted his forward-looking approach, Labor’s Julia Gillard said his team was stacked with climate-change sceptics and cheerleaders for Mr. Howard’s Work Choices industrial relations laws.

Kevin Rudd’s week-long visit to New York to address the UN General Assembly will mark his second visit to the US this year. Labor has been in office for about 300 days and the new Prime Minister has spent 50 of them overseas. Former prime minister John Howard spent 18 nights overseas in his first year.

Labor’s substitute for WorkChoices, which it calls Forward With Fairness, is no counter-revolution. In a way, it’s more an attempt to make WorkChoices more efficient, the sort of prescription that John Howard might have gone for had he not been overwhelmed by the desire to leave behind a profound ideological mark.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has accused Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull of irresponsibility for contradicting the Reserve Bank governor about the financial crisis. Mr Turnbull today appeared to criticise Glenn Stevens’s choice of the words when describing Australian banks’ position in relation to troubled overseas institutions.

The American economy is stressed to the breaking point by fundamental problems — in housing, finance, credit, employment, health care and the federal budget. And as a result, American workers have taken a beating. John McCain lavished praise on workers, but ignored their problems. That is the real insult.

With economic conditions worsening over the course of this year and voter anxiety on the rise, Senator McCain has had to labor to get past the impression — fostered by his own admissions that the subject is not his strongest suit — that he lacks the experience and understanding to address the nation’s economic woes.

Senator Obama originally built his campaign on his opposition to the Iraq war, but his message has shifted to the economy. The question remains whether Mr. Obama can define his candidacy around the economy, as other Democrats have done, and be seen as connecting with the struggles of Americans.

Malcolm Turnbull’s ascent is the culmination of his own will to power and the historic weakness of the Liberal Party after its 2007 election defeat. This is the real Liberal leadership transition. It completes the purging from the election debacle. This is a historic vote because Turnbull, provided he lasts, will fashion a different Liberal Party.

Opening question time today, Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull challenged the Prime Minister to explain what he was doing to fireproof the economy in the wake of the crash of Wall Street giant Lehman Brothers. But Treasurer Wayne Swan accused Mr Turnbull of vandalising the surplus by blocking budget measures in the Senate.