I was a very senior minister in the Howard government and I sat around this particular table [in the prime ministerial office] in many discussions. The difference between being a senior minister and the prime minister is that ultimately the buck does stop with the prime minister and in the end the prime minister has to make those critical judgement calls and that's the big difference.

When politicians complain about the media, it strikes me as resembling footballers complaining about the umpire.

Most of the people who are coming to Australia by boat have passed through several countries on the way, and if they simply wanted asylum they could have claimed that in any of the countries through which they'd passed.

I am not being negative, I am simply being factual when I say Kevin Rudd is the best friend the people smugglers have ever had

Coal is good for humanity, coal is good for prosperity, coal is an essential part of our economic future, here in Australia, and right around the world.

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

The sky is where mathematics and magic become one.