A bit of body contact never hurt anyone.

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

Abortion is the easy way out. It’s hardly surprising that people should choose the most convenient exit from awkward situations.

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.

There are tens, perhaps hundreds of millions of people living in poverty and danger who might readily seek to enter a Western country if the opportunity is there.

I also think that if you want to put a price on carbon, why not just do it with a simple tax? Why not ask motorists to pay more, why not ask electricity consumers to pay more and then at the end of the year you can take your invoices to the tax office and get a rebate of the carbon tax you've paid

I don't bring religion into the square.