I'm not into power for the sake of it.

Someone's got to break the glass ceiling, and once it's broken, everybody else comes clamouring up behind.

Senator Obama will be taking office at a critical juncture. There are many pressing challenges facing the international community, including the global financial crisis and global warming. We look forward to working closely with President-elect Obama and his team to address these challenges.

As New Zealanders, we've been in on the United Nations from the very beginning, played a role in the drafting of the charter - it means a lot to us that those processes are followed.

Adopting and promoting sustainable production practices require concerted effort, something which in practice is too often missing or insufficient. Making this shift at the scale required demands forward-looking leadership in the public and private sectors alike.

In the end, there will always be a fundamental difference of perspective between New Zealand and Australia on defense, whoever is in government.

I think the issue of North Korea is one where the international community as a whole has to work to resolve the crisis.