I was born in North London, migrated to Australia when I was four. So when I first came to Australia people saw me as a little English boy. Over the years that feeling of being a little English boy diminished and I felt much more Australian.

Empowerment of individuals and communities is absolutely central. Getting the community involved in organising their own destiny has got to be a key part of it.

The lower you are in the hierarchy the worse your health, the higher you are, the better your health.

If the economists are arguing as to whether we need to cut or stimulate, because they're completely opposite policies, and they can't work it out then I would say let us work it out for you. Let's look at the lives people are able to lead, the effect of policies on the lives people are able to lead, and hence the likely effect on health and health inequalities.

Our elected politicians do what they judge is the right thing to do. And if we disagree then I'll show them the evidence of why I disagree.

Australia is a very healthy country which goes along with the fact that it's very high on the Human Development Index, high wealth, good levels of education. So Australia ranks right up there, second or third on the Human Development Index. And Indigenous Australians, if you treated them as if they were a separate country, would rank probably about 100th or below 100.

Health inequalities and the social determinants of health are not a footnote to the determinants of health. They are the main issue.