Australia's economy key to PM's election battle plan

Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd is to fight next month’s general election on who can be trusted to manage the Australian economy as it moves from a decade-old mining boom that is fading.

In starting the five-week election campaign, Mr Rudd said the economy can no longer rely on Chinese demand for iron ore and coal that made the country one of the few wealthy nations to avoid a recession during the global economic downturn.