STOP PRESS...

...turmoil within the Australian opposition. Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull's support for Kevin Rudd's ETS is costing him dearly. A ballot for leadership is expected to take place tomorrow. Its outcome may determine a "double dissolution" general elction...

...Expectations that Mr Hockey would agree to challenge came as a Newspoll conducted for The Australian on the weekend revealed a stunning eight-percentage-point collapse in the Opposition Leader's rating among voters. After a week of attempting to force his reluctant party to vote in favour of the Prime Minister's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, Mr Turnbull was rated preferred prime minister by only 14 per cent of voters, down from 22 per cent a fortnight ago... Mr Hockey is likely to contest tomorrow's Liberal leadership ballot under a deal allowing the Liberals to crush Kevin Rudd's hope of a pre-Copenhagen deal on climate change.

...meanwhile an emotional Mr Turnbull (pictured left with possible leadership contender Joe Hockey) pleads with the Australian media to "leave me alone."
More from the Australian here...

The Aussie opposition elects a new leader...

Malcolm Turnbull's job...focusing the Liberal agenda on the biggest issue on Australians' minds: the economy. GDP expanded 0.3% in the second quarter, business confidence is slumping, and annualized consumer inflation is expected to reach 5% by December. The ruling Labor Party has responded by rolling back labor-market reforms, collecting taxes on alcohol and expensive cars before the authorizing legislation had even passed, and promising a massive tax on business in the form of an emissions trading scheme. Mr. Turnbull should drive a truck through this political opening, emphasizing how lower taxes and smaller government can help raise productivity, attract investment and buffer Australia against economic headwinds. Yesterday he said government's role is "to empower and enable the enterprise, the dreams, the ambitions of Australians."

More from the WSJ here...