I'd like to be seen as an average Australian bloke. I can't think of... I can't think of a nobler description of anybody than to be called an average Australian bloke.

The most important civil liberty... is to stay alive and to be free from violence and death.

Nobody should claim that the war [in Iraq] is over. But certainly it can be said that the regime is finished.

Of all the important relationships that Australia has with other countries, none has been more greatly transformed over the last 10 years than our relationship with China.

I accept that in a free society you have to justify reductions in people's liberties. I accept that, bearing in mind my starting point is that the most important human right is the right to life.

It's beyond belief that any Australian could be so stupid as to carry drugs into any country in Asia.

If I were running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory not only for Obama but also for the Democrats.