What he steadfastly refused to come clean about, however, was precisely who would take the important role of shaping Australia's foreign policy. Australia's global standing has never been higher, and voters are entitled to know how the important relationships built up over the last 11 years would be managed if Labor won office.

Would Peter Garrett have an unfettered opportunity to take his anti-Americanism around the world, in the form of Australia's foreign policy? Would Kim Carr be given the chance to "thump the tables" in Detroit, Tokyo and Beijing, as he has promised to do? Would the job go to Bob McMullan, who has demanded clemency not only for the Bali Bombers but also demanded it for Saddam Hussein?

Or has it been promised to one of the dozens of former trade union officials who are currently eyeing off safe seats in Parliament?

Who ever takes control of foreign affairs for Labor will inherit a confused, myopic and internationally embarrassing set of policies, designed solely for domestic political gain and with no consideration of their impact on Australia's reputation around the world.

The architect of these failed policies is not Mr McClelland. It is Mr Rudd himself.

Rudd Labor's Foreign Affairs gaffes in the last six months have included:

Labor’s ill-conceived plan – outlined in the Sunday Age in May – to downgrade the significance of the US Alliance.
Mr Rudd’s decision to deploy troops to a war zone on the basis of a television news headline.
The deeply offensive claim that Australian troops in the Middle East are performing only symbolic duties.
The proposed gunboat diplomacy of sending Australian military vessels to board Japanese fishing ships in international waters.
Mr Rudd's naive plan to arrest the Iranian President and take him to an international court which has no jurisdiction over him.
Mr Rudd's fabricated claim that Australia would be locked out of climate change talks in Bali in December if it did not ratify the outdated Kyoto Protocol.
Mr Rudd's failure to raise climate change in his discussions with the President of the United States.
Rudd Labor's proposal to use Australian diplomats to lobby on behalf of the terrorists who killed 88 of our country men and women.
Dumping Mr McClelland will not overcome the entrenched faults in Labor's foreign policy. On the contrary, he has simply continued with the policies set down by Mr Rudd in his time in the portfolio.

Mr Rudd should do voters the courtesy of sharing his secret plans for the foreign affairs portfolio. He should also do Mr McClelland the courtesy of not making him the scapegoat for the failed Labor Party policies which he himself designed.

Media Release : http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/releases/2007/fa071010.html
The Hon. Alexander Downer, MP, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIA