Rupert Murdoch's main man Col Allan certainly came home with a bang Monday morning.

The front page of Sydney's Daily Telegraph election campaign newspaper declared war on its front page in bold letters: ''Finally, you now have the chance to . . . KICK THIS MOB OUT.''

Newspapers traditionally manage to keep their feelings in check until the last days of an election campaign. It’s part of allowing the news to speak for itself. It is also a tradition that perhaps permits reporters to cover the various sides of the campaign free of constraints imposed by continuing complaints of bias.

But the Murdoch Sydney newspaper threw tradition to the winds this morning and, without waiting to see the colour of the political party’s policies, announced itself an overt player in the political process with its front page editorial and inflammatory headline.