After the inquiry, insult was heaped upon humiliation when his lawyers considered a defence suggesting he was too stupid to understand why he had been taking steroids.

BBC: The pariah of the sporting world

It also spends more on internal security than national defence, suggesting it fears its own people.

BBC: Asia

China's increasingly prickly relations with Australia were intensified in May when Mr Rudd unveiled a defence white paper suggesting that China was now Australia's biggest strategic threat.

ECONOMIST: Australia and China: With a little understanding | The