A former diplomat has described the Rudd Government's reaction to a leaked conversation between US President George W Bush and the Prime Minister as 'immature' and 'amateurish'.

The conversation, which was reported in The Australian newspaper, revolved around the upcoming G20 summit with Kevin Rudd reportedly having to explain what the G20 was to Mr Bush.

While the Prime Minister's Office denied the leak, Mr Rudd has been criticised for not doing more to quash the rumours.

Bruce Haigh, an Australian diplomat for more than two decades, told ABC Radio's PM while the leaking of the conversation was a diplomatic gaffe the Government's handling of the incident is more damaging.

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Rubbish says Gus... What Bruce Haigh — the very distinguished former diplomat, human rights defender and olive grower — says is more damaging than anything else.

The conversation that leaked may or may not have been invented by whoever leaked it — if it ever leaked in the first place or the whole episode was or was not an urban myth in the first place.

What is more damaging to humanity, really, is that our cajoling PM still has to deal with GW Bush  — the foot-in-mouth president, the numb-brain of Homo sapiens, the tantrumic brat who never grew up — in order to help solve what GW Bush himself broke in the first place in his silly testings of the free-fall, from great heights, of fragile things on hard concrete floors — repeatedly.

The cartoon above shows how Gus heard the conversation, verbatim, on the grapevine (cabernet sauvignon).

The United States Ambassador says Australia's relationship with the US remains strong, despite the controversy of a leaked phone conversation between the countries' leaders.

Both Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and President George W Bush say details of the phone call published in the Australian newspaper are inaccurate.

The Federal Opposition says the apparent leak has damaged ties with the United States.

But Ambassador Robert McCallum says that is not the case.

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the federal daleks whinge as usual... 

Opposition frontbencher Tony Abbott has branded Prime Minister Kevin Rudd a coward over his refusal to answer questions about the leaking of details of a phone call with US President George W Bush.

The Opposition has accused Mr Rudd of leaking details of the conversation with Mr Bush to The Australian newspaper.

The paper reported that Mr Bush had to ask what the G20 was, a claim since denied by the White House and Mr Rudd.

In Parliament yesterday Mr Rudd refused to say who had leaked the details of the call to the newspaper and did not speak when the Opposition tried to move a motion to censure him.

Mr Abbott says the Prime Minister lacks the courage of his predecessor John Howard.

"He simply refused to stand up and answer legitimate questions on the record in the Parliament and I don't think Australians want a coward for a Prime Minister," he said.

"John Howard never ran away from parliamentary scrutiny."

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Gus: Tony!!! We may be dumb and our memory may have been fuzzed by too many glasses of Shiraz, but... "John Howard never ran away from parliamentary scrutiny."???? Ahahahahah... Sure, like on the war in Iraq, on the children overboard affair, just to quote a couple of his fiddles, John would LIE with masterly brilliance... or fudge... or porkie... or hide behind a thick curtain of "in the national interest..." 

The dummy you should slamdunk is GW Bush, the most unpopular US president in history, who has single-handedly created most of humanity's present problem by denial of reality, by lying — and by his simple inability to grasp the result of his actions...