And a government that accepts that it will be judged more by its deeds than by its mere words.

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.

Why isn’t the fact that 100,000 women choose to end their pregnancies regarded as a national tragedy approaching the scale, say, of Aboriginal life expectancy being 20 years less than that of the general community?

If people are going to do things which have certain consequences that they would rather avoid, they should do whatever they need to avoid the consequences.

I see myself as a social conservative, but I think that there are lots of social institutions that produce beneficial reforms, like public hospitals, for instance, and schools.

Whether carbon dioxide is quite the environmental villain that some people make it out to be is not yet proven.

Certainly, my uni days involved some statements that I wouldn't make today.