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.

The problem with politicians getting to know the issues in indigenous townships is that we tend to suffer from what Aboriginal people call the 'seagull syndrome' - we fly in, scratch around and fly out.

We will be a consultative, collegial government. No surprises, no excuses. That's what you'll get under the Coalition.

I think there is no doubt that the advent of 24/7 news channels, which are voracious in their demand for constant new content, has accelerated the political process. The rise of social media, in addition to talkback, I think has intensified the political process.

You try turning up in America without documents, without a visa, without a passport; you'll be treated as very, very much illegal.

What will most certainly happen is that there will be very clear and full communication between the government and independents and minor parties. The precise mechanisms will evolve over time, but we certainly intend to keep the minor parties and the independents very much in the loop. We have to if we want our legislative agenda to have a reasonable chance of success and that's what we intend to do.

I feel a little uncomfortable at being asked the sorts of questions that other Catholics in public life tend not to be asked.