With a reputation for long essays, we would have thought Kevin Rudd would take more interest in his brother Greg Rudd's opinion piece published in The Australian on Tuesday. The PM said: "First of all, I haven't spoken to him about it. Secondly, I haven't read it, either." The PM was in Port Macquarie, NSW, where he staged the 15th community cabinet since coming to power. Inspecting a section of the Pacific Highway, he sported a becoming orange hard hat, a change from the Akubra worn the previous evening. The Akubra had been supplied by independent MP Rob Oakeshott, who presented Rudd and Julia Gillard with hats labelled "Prime Minister" and "Deputy Prime Minister" respectively. Rudd remarked, to Gillard's mild embarrassment, that she looked as if she were "decked out as Calamity Jane".

Strewth, 27 August 2009