Bob Hawke

“The greatest stain upon this great Australian nation's character, without any question, is the great gaps that exist between our Aboriginal brothers and sisters in terms of their health, their education, their living conditions, their incarceration rates and life expectancy. It's a great stain.”

“Unless and until something concrete is done about addressing the Israeli-Palestinian issue you won't get a real start on the war against terrorism.”

“Poor quality of representatives... is not a purely Australian phenomenon - it's a worldwide phenomenon.”

“I believed in the goodness of the Australian people; I believed they did not want to be attacking each other, and from those thoughts, I got the idea of Reconciliation in the campaign slogan and of turning this into something practical by calling a summit to bring representatives of all sections of society together, from the wealthiest to the poor.”

“One fundamental issue which Trump did take advantage of was the increasing disparities of income in the United States. So many people saw the rich getting richer and it not being spread around. It's affecting European politics, too, now.”

“They've been irrelevant to me, the print media, because my link does not depend upon the menial minds of the scribblers in Canberra or anywhere else.”

“There is no doubt that this government and this country are benefiting from the reforms that we brought in the 1980s, and that couldn't have been done without the co-operation of the trade union movement.”

“The level of journalism in this country is just so pathetically poor, and I've, in a sense, gone over the top of them, which they don't like.”

“We are building together a nation in which there are no second-class Australians.”

“The things which are most important don't always scream the loudest.”

“I believe the Australian people have an affection for the Queen, and so they should have.”

“Is there some reason why the quality of people going into the parliament is not as high? I don't know the complete answer, but I think - in fact, I'm sure - that part of it is the increasing intrusiveness of the media - the general media and social media - into the private lives of politicians and their families.”

“I could never afford to be in a position where I could do something stupid, so I gave up drinking.”

“If the Australian Government were to associate itself with the United States attack on Iraq, which was not sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council, then we'd put this country at risk.”

“My point was that the war was intrinsically wrong, and as a result of our participation we haven't improved Australia's security but created a greater danger at home and abroad.”

“I felt completely ready to become prime minister. I came to office better equipped, in terms of knowledge of economics and of the Australian economy, than anyone before me, or since, I would say.”

“If elected, Bill Shorten and his team would hit the ground running, implementing Labor's plans and setting the nation up for a stronger economic future.”

“I had ministers who were just outstandingly good.”

“None of us can be sure of how long we will live. Because this is so, I think you should try not to think too much about dying but think about all the nice things that make life so precious to us all.”

“From that first wage case in 1958, I had, pretty much, rock star status.”