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.

In terms of having views and being prepared to express them, yes, I think New Zealand's had a leadership role in a lot of things.

Of course I have an opinion on many things but I don't micromanage.

Never look back. Move on. Aim high. Etc.

We need a lot of thinking and ideas. We need all the innovators, particularly with the new sustainable technologies - how do we get them to affordability so that people can generate clean energy?

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.

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