I recall a cartoon soon after the election of the Whitlam government depicting Gough swinging himself around, and around, in a large chair, behind the large prime ministerial desk, having just arrived post election to occupy the Prime Minister's Office, shouting, repeatedly, "Wee! Wee! What do we do now?"

By today's standard Gough had set out the main elements of his policy agenda, so he had some sense of what would be required for an effective transition to government, even though the chaotic implementation over his three years in office left many doubts in this regard.

However, a distinguishing feature of the last several governments has been their unreadiness for government, not only lacking a well developed and deliverable policy agenda or strategy, but in being unable to transition from the ways of opposition.

Abbott's whole approach, from staff to policy, was still very much that of his time as an effective opposition leader, very much still focused on scoring points on the other side, with early policy responses from Gonski to the Audit Commission to his ill-fated first budget to his attack on renewable energy, sporadic and reactive, obviously without any overarching policy framework or strategy.