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The most impactful dollars that Australia can spend are actually what goes to help the poorest.

I don't see why, if you look at how the Australian culture and psyche is, that we can't be amongst the most generous, from the grassroots up, nations in the world.

The Australian people want to help build this country into a great nation. This budget... has not realized the capacity of the Australian people. It has underestimated them. It has let us down.

Wealthy people in Australia tend to give, and give very quietly.

Australia is a resource-rich nation. We have been good at exploiting our minerals base and agricultural sector for exports.

The evidence is inarguable that Australia is becoming too expensive and too uncompetitive to do export-oriented business. Africans want to work, and its workers are willing to work for less than $2 per day. Such statistics make me worry for this country's future. We are becoming a high-cost and high-risk nation for investment.

Who says Australia offers not a home for every poor Englishman, or any other countryman that finds his way to our shores? And what sort of thanks do we get for it?

By 2050, the Australian population is expected to grow from 22 million to 36 million. That increase alone will put huge pressure on our towns and our cities. We will need more homes, more roads, more rail lines, more hospitals, more schools, just to accommodate so many Australians.

Well, Australians should speak for the national interests of Australia, and whatever role former Australian prime ministers may have, one of the things you do is speak frankly about the country as you see the country's best interests, you know?

People ask me all the time what it is about Australia that produces so many big stars. Honestly, I believe it is a combination of things. Our education standards are quite high, but our industry is very limited. Yet we're very aware of the industry - everyone goes to the theater, sees TV shows.