It's not often that you have a flicker of sympathy for politicians but you couldn't help feeling that the Aussie leader Malcolm Turnbull was between a rock and a hard place as he stood talking tough next to Teflon John Key over the weekend.

The rock was of course Key who he'd deified on the day he stabbed the Mad Monk Tony Abbott in the back, lauding him as a leader of international status - something he clearly aspires to himself.

The hard place is the Australian atmosphere Abbott left for him during his two years in the top top. The macho, budgie smuggler gave the bird to refugees, turning their boats away from Aussie shores and then began waving his fist at Kiwi criminals, even after they'd served their time, despite the fact that his wife's from the happy valley town of Wainuiomata, made famous by Chloe and her Tiger slippers.

It's hard for Turnbull because while the outback unwashed Aussie might not have liked much of what Abbott stood for, they love the immigration fortress mentality. Ask virtually anyone there whether they think Kiwi crims who've been in jail for twelve months or more should be deported and the answer's always the same.

But if they were asked whether the deportation should take place if they came to Australia as an infant and learnt all their bad habits in that country, then they might give a different answer. They won't get asked that though because the plight of Kiwis in Australia doesn't get much press there and the great unwashed aren't all that interested anyway.

Truth is the tough talk from both sides came after officials had spent weeks chewing the fat on how a resolution could be achieved. Both men had to try and satisfy their constituents that they'd fought the battle on their behalf, when in reality nothing much has changed.

That's the art of politics and that was what was on display over the weekend.

While Turnbull might have eyes for Key's political style, his main eye is on the Aussie election next year and if he was to do a total back down on this one, the chances of him pulling it off would have been even more remote than they are now.

And besides, the half a million Kiwis living across the ditch can't vote anyway unless they're Aussie citizens and to become one of those has been nigh on impossible for more than a decade now.

So the ANZAC spirit is most certainly not on the level!