Our opponents say more children are living in poverty than when we came into office. And that's probably right.

We also need to remember the enduring principles on which the National Party is based – individual responsibility, support for families and communities, and a belief that the State can't and shouldn't do everything.

Your personality as the prime minister feeds through to what you emphasise, and what you don't, how you'll handle a situation - whether you've got the combination of intelligence or instincts to adapt and to make good decisions.

We have been given the trust and goodwill of New Zealanders. I do not take that trust for granted, and I never will.

While his removal will not necessarily bring an immediate end to terrorist activity, I have absolutely no doubt that the world is a safer place without Osama Bin Laden.

I'm not claiming I'm a saint, but I have a genuine, genuine belief in trying to help others.

We should always measure a government's environmental rhetoric against its environmental record