No country will reach its full potential if its female citizens do not enjoy full equality.

I've been round Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, and China in the last few months and the message that I've been taking is that New Zealand is building an up market dynamic into a connected economy. And that we are not the old-fashioned, ship mutton kind of product the people associate their export in work.

I only take on roles that I'm passionate about.

I deeply detest social distinction and snobbery, and in that lies my strong aversion to titular honours.

We need innovation. We need great ideas that can be simply and effectively produced all over the place.

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

In terms of protecting ourselves, the main issues are around how do we protect our borders [from illegal migrants and livestock and plant diseases], how do we protect our fisheries?