In your telephone call, you [Malcolm Turnbull]said that neither you nor the Cabinet would be supporting my nomination. When I asked the reasons for this, you said that neither you nor the Cabinet has the view that I had the qualifications for the position [of UN's secretary-general].

We want a national emissions trading scheme, the Government does not and has rejected one for years. We want to boost the mandatory renewable energies target, the Government has failed to do that. We want a national demand side management strategy for the country to reduce electricity consumption and the Government, up until now, has done very little on that score.

It is unlikely that you'll have anything emerge from MEF (Major Economies Forum) by way of detailed programmatic specificity.

I just don't really get into all that sort of personal negative stuff. My job is to outline some positive plans for the country's future and perhaps Mr. Howard and the Government don't like the fact that I'm putting out some positive alternatives. What's their preference.. for me to be a negative carping opposition leader?

If you accept it to be natural and normal to be gay then it follows it is not right for two folk who love each other to be denied marriage.

John Howard has gone a bridge too far by not going far enough

We have a prime minister, I'm the foreign minister, I'm trying to get on with the job of doing Australia's foreign policy.