Gone was the leather jacket that became something of a trademark for Mr Turnbull during his Q&A appearances prior to taking the keys to The Lodge, but back was the progressive entrepreneur whose views on climate change and gay marriage (until he became PM, at least) made him comfortably the Labor Party's favourite Liberal.

And we all know how that turned out.

Monday's appearance by Mr Turnbull provided two timely reminders: First, that politicians who occupy the middle ground of the political spectrum inevitably attract the greatest public support and, second, that political parties do not operate that way.

Mr Turnbull's reign as leader was doomed from the start because he was never conservative enough to satisfy the conservative extremes of his party.

And while plenty of Labor voters quite liked him, they didn't like him enough when it mattered (i.e. when they cast their ballot).

In the end, being the Liberals' least liked Liberal and Labor's most liked Liberal left him with public support but no party support.

NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean may be heading down a similar path after breaking conservative ranks this week to acknowledge a link between climate change and the bushfire crisis currently gripping the state.

Mr Kean said now, as the bushfires continue to burn, was the time to open a conversation on reducing emissions and setting new climate change targets.

He may have science on his side - along with much of the Australian public - but Mr Kean's position puts him in direct conflict with the state and federal leadership of the Liberals' coalition partner and has made it increasingly uncomfortable for the leadership of his own party to continue stonewalling on where they stand.

He will have won plenty of admirers from the other end of the political spectrum but will have lost a few friends within his own party along the way.

Mr Kean holds one of the Liberals' safer seats (Hornsby, with a margin of 16.3 per cent) and his rise to prominence this week should only boost his political standing.

But, as Mr Turnbull learned, winning over the public is not a guarantee of a long career in politics. We wait to see if Mr Kean's career goes the same way.