I don't think that my particular religious convictions should be held against me in this campaign any more than the Prime Minister's lack of convictions should be held against her.

I'm confident that there are plenty of people who have the strength of character and the presence of mind to warn me of difficulties and alert me to opportunities.

I want to be a very good friend to Indonesia, but there are some things which are non-negotiable. Border protection is just non-negotiable. Maintaining a strong security network is just non-negotiable. I think the Indonesians understand that.

Here we go again, a government which is making yet more excuses for yet more failure when it comes to getting our budgetary situation right.

We've got to get the system right. That's why we've got this root-and-branch reform under way.

There will be no surprises, there will be no excuses, we will do what we've said we will do.

It's very easy for Australians living in big cities to either romanticise or demonise the situation in Aboriginal places - to kind of look at things through the 'noble innocents' prism or through the 'chronically dysfunctional' prism, and I suspect that is so often the case.