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

I was interested in politics since the age of 14.

I think it's important to have a blend just as we need to have by the way a mix of different opera companies and different arts companies.

The great works belong to no one nation, no one cultural tradition even. They are universal.I want an Australian vision of arts policy that is expansive, is embracing, is not narrow, is not parochial. For example, that Australians can do Shakespeare just as well as Englishmen can because we, like every civilised nation, partake of the great canonical works. It's not about Australian nationalism; it's about our identity as a culturally ambitious, culturally sophisticated nation.

The great works belong to no one nation, no one cultural tradition even. They are universal.

I decided few years ago to leave the bar to pursue a career in politics because I wanted to make a contribution in Parliament.

It is a necessary precondition for the success of a referendum that there should be broad community consensus and bipartisan support for it.