Reform is not for the short-winded. I'm committed to making sure the Senate is more than just a graveyard for good ideas.

The balance between freedom and security is a delicate one.

We really don't have a policy [on climate change]. There's a lot of rhetoric and not a lot of action.

On the mountains mistakes are fatal. In politics, mistakes are wounding emotionally, but you recover. Personally, wilderness helps me get back in touch with natural rhythms, helps me reflect and, in the process, restore my creativity.

You don't climb mountains without a team, you don't climb mountains without being fit, you don't climb mountains without being prepared and you don't climb mountains without balancing the risks and rewards. And you never climb a mountain on accident - it has to be intentional.

It is deeply shocking and incomprehensible to me that despite volumes of documentation and living witnesses who can attest to the horrors of the Holocaust, there are still those who would deny it.

Truth be told, I'm much more comfortable in a pair of hiking boots or with a rack of climbing gear than in front of a laptop.