Any serious shift towards more sustainable societies has to include gender equality.

People are optimistic about the future.

If you neglect those who are currently poor and stable, you may create more poor and unstable people. There has been a tremendous concentration of donor interest in countries that are seen as particularly fragile - but it becomes harder to mobilise money for sub-Saharan, plain poor countries.

I don't know that you're ever going to persuade New Zealanders that they're not going to own their own homes and I'm not going to try.

Well in the end the world can crank itself up to sanctions, as it has with Zimbabwe, another sad case.

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

Innovation applied across the board of development is having a huge impact, and can have more. All sorts of technology can provide shortcuts, can overcome obstacles which once seemed insuperable.