The great curse of modern political life is incrementalism.

It takes heart to be in political life.

You get one chance to do something about native title. You get perhaps one chance in your life to do something about a republic. You get one chance, your chance, to build a piece of the political architecture in the Pacific. I wasn't going to give those up.

I always believed in burning up the government's political capital, not being Mr Safe Guy, you know?

Political life at Washington is like political life in a suburban vestry.

Two kinds of men generally best succeed in political life; men of no principle, but of great talent; and men of no talent, but of one principle - that of obedience to their superiors.