As a Liberal of course I am very strongly committed to the notion of artistic freedom and very hostile to the idea of there being a single view of cultural policy dictated from on high.

If I could say something about Capricornia, and it came out in your previous report, there is no doubt that the end of the mining boom has led to an economic downturn in central Queensland, and that is why people in Capricornia, and elsewhere in central Queensland too, are so desperate for a government that will protect their jobs and create new opportunities for jobs in the future. And that is why [Malcolm] Turnbull government's message of jobs and growth and its six point economic plan is so important to them.

I would say to the people of Queensland, and to all listeners around the country, is that if you want stable government in the next term of parliament, it's not just enough to reelect the [Malcolm] Turnbull government. It's also important to elect a senate which will be able to deal with the important reforms, with the important legislation, in a way in which the senate in the last parliament was unable to deal with.

There have been 44 constitutional referenda in Australia and only eight have succeeded.

I don't really know a lot about these 'anti-protest' laws. I'm only vaguely aware of them, but I don't have enough detailed knowledge about them to comment.

The arts are part of a nation's identity, they are part of a nation's soul and when we look at a country from the eyes of people overseas they are part of a nations branding in the world as it were.

If you were a person in Rockhampton who is wondering where your next job was coming from, and you had the prospect of one of Australia's largest ever coal projects with a very, very long life span being developed and reviving the regional economy. And you saw the Greens in particular doing their little best to stop it happening.