The great curse of modern political life is incrementalism.

The lesson of the Federation should be that the lesson is over. Australia must have a new idea of itself. We have to strike out in a new direction, in a new way, armed with our own self-regard, our own confidence and fully appreciating our own uniqueness. All other roads will lead us into the shadow of great powers.

In the end, rational policy is always good.

Politicians come in three varieties: straight men, fixers, and maddies.

If you are sitting on the title of any block of land in New South Wales you can bet an Aboriginal person at some stage was dispossessed of it.

You know, in the WikiLeaks cables, the Chinese discovered that Kevin Rudd was urging the Americans to keep the military option open against them. This is hardly a friendly gesture.

The great changes in civilisation and society have been wrought by deeply held beliefs and passion rather than by a process of rational deduction.