Down go the British ministers

In Australia Labor lost one minister. In the UK the tally for the day was three making it six ministers gone in four days. And at the ballot box for local council elections it was a complete humiliation for Labour.

THE PICK OF THE MORNING’S STORIES

Gordon’s final throw of the dice – London Evening Standard

Local elections: Labour suffers humiliating defeat after losing control of its last county councils and heading for third place behind the Liberal Democrats. – Daily Telegraph, London

POLITICS AND ECONOMICS

AUSTRALIA

Promotions

Faulkner takes aim at Defence – Sydney Morning Herald

‘Field Marshal’ Faulkner takes the helm – Melbourne Age

Greg Combet tipped for Rudd ministry – The Australian

Demotions

Fitzgibbon promises to ‘deal’ with Judases – Sydney Morning Herald

A minister and his series of unfortunate events – the departure of Joel Fitzgibbon – Melbourne Age

Political life

ALP cuts down achieving, passionate women: Marion Scrymgour – The Australian

Scrymgour: I am sane – Northern Territory News

Initiative on MPs’ travel won’t go far – The Australian on WA travel allowances

The political peril of siblings – Annabel Craabb in the Sydney Morning Herald

Visits

MPs’ trip to see the Dalai Lama angers Chinese – Sydney Morning Herald

A hint of strange things

PM joins used car dealer’s ‘exclusive’ fraternity – Brisbane Courier Mail

RBA offshoot talked money with Saddam – Sydney Morning Herald

Economic conditions

Average annual power bills set to rise $300 in Queensland – Brisbane Courier Mail

Costs, taxes on the up and up in Queensland – Brisbane Courier Mail

Hamilton-Smith responds to SA State Budget and says Government needs to be held to account for exposing taxpayers to debt of State Bank proportions – Adelaide Advertiser

We still want your money, Rudd tells Chinese – Sydney Morning Herald

Industrial Relations

Martin Ferguson lashes out at unions – declaring they should be more focused on protecting the jobs of their members than agitating for a second wave of workplace laws. – The Australian

Opinion

Oh what a lovely crisis – Paul Kelly in The Australian says that on both the economy and defence management, the Rudd Government finishes this week significantly strengthened.

Labor’s factions ‘gone’, not forgotten – writes Lenore Taylor in The Australian

Liberals’ divided men – Peter van Onselen writes in The Australian that there is one issue that unites MPs on the non-Labor side of the parliament: the Government’s debt bill is too high and Labor is too readily prepared to run budget deficits. Importantly, it intellectually unites the two most formidable Liberals in the parliament, Peter Costello and Malcolm Turnbull. This is potentially fertile ground for an Opposition down in the polls and searching for relevance. It is a shame, practically speaking, the two men can’t work together.

Exports real key to recovery – says Michael Stutchbury in The Australian

Subplot thickens for Marion Scrymgour – Natasha Robinson delves into the strange world of Northern Territory style Labor politics – The Australian

Defence and the enemy within – Laurie Oakes on the new Defence Minister in the Sydney Daily Telegraph

Down goes the first domino – Phillip Coorey in the Sydney Morning Herald on how the ousting of Joel Fitzgibbon brings Kevin Rudd down to earth with a thud

Everybody loves Julia: why Gillard is No. 2 with a bullet – Peter Hartcher in The Sydney Morning Herald

No valid defence – Shaun Carney in the Melbourne Age says it is clear that there was a conspiracy to get rid of Joel Fitzgibbon, but his own actions helped engineer his downfall.

The bar’s closed for the good ol’ boys – Tony Wright goes down memory lane and finds the Fitzgibbon family – Melbourne Age

ELSEWHERE

The Presidency

090606miamiherald Obama in Egypt: ‘It’s time for us to act’ on peace – During a groundbreaking visit to Egypt, President Barack Obama spoke bluntly on the Israel-Palestinian chasm, calling for mutual understanding and peace – Miami Herald