Alexander Downer Quotations

We have said many times before that ... at the very least, Indonesia is responsible for the security situation in East Timor,

We want to see progress on agriculture, we want to see the European Union come back with a better market access offer that's going to be crucial to a successful meeting in Hong Kong,

The onus of that task falls on the armed forces and the police force in East Timor and they haven't done a good job in recent times. It's important that they perform more effectively and do everything they can to stop the violence and move to disarm the two sides -- the paramilitaries and the pro-independence side,

Sheik Hilaly is making a good contribution. He is making a good contribution.

No one is suggesting, and no one should suggest, that the United States is anything but vigilant and determined in its opposition to the proliferation and even the use of biological weapons,

If these talks are a success, clearly we hope a U.N. presence can be on the ground in the next few weeks,

We think, at the end of the day, it makes a great deal more sense to have dialogue with North Korea, rather than to freeze them out of regional and international arrangements,

I think in turn the media has become very interested in this specific case, and has gone into an enormous amount of detail.

I will raise bilateral issues and regional security concerns, including measures to prevent nuclear and missile proliferation and other arms control objectives,

Reports that I've had in now overnight are, I must admit, pretty bad,

I suppose people could hide all sorts of equipment in all sorts of clothing,

It is deeply regrettable that the Pakistani government has shown absolute disregard for the many direct appeals to exercise restraint and has willfully turned its back on the sincere efforts of the international community to encourage reason to prevail.

Well, I'm not going to go into what the letter says, because the police are looking at that. But as you say it's in Bahasa. But of course that's not to suggest that the letter came from outside of Australia. It came from in Australia. It came from Victoria.

We hope that it's going to be possible to get back on to the diplomatic path before too long,

Well, it's a - I don't want to disappoint you, but it's a time worn tradition of Australian Governments over many years not to get into any discussion about that aspect of intelligence matters.

We want to keep supporting the Indonesian government, the Indonesian police, the Indonesian intelligence services and, of course, the people of Indonesia,

Yes, I don't think I shall ever become Prime Minister. Hard as that is to swallow, I tell you one person who is very happy always to see me say that, and that's my wife.

I'm not terribly focused on whether I even could ever become the Leader of the Liberal Party or the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in the future.

So this is all part of a free society. People are entitled to hold whatever view they want, and the media can report things how they wish.

My father had the same name as me but he was known as Alec. He was a member of the House of Representatives.

Well people often ask me how I felt growing up with a father who was a politician and who was often away. But when I'm asked that question I often reflect on my inability really to be able to answer it in any relative sense because I never grew up with a father doing anything else. So I just have no idea what it would be like otherwise.

If people are concerned about my house and where I live again it's much more of a reflection on them than it is on me.

I hate to spoil my own prospects, but I really don't respect the kiss-and-tell approach to public life at all, not at all.

I think prime ministers, I actually think Cabinet ministers should be subject to intense scrutiny, I think that's in the public interest, even if some of the allegations made aren't right and so on, and they have to correct the record, it doesn't matter.

Yeah, well I'm not aspiring to be the Prime Minister.

I think any good government will target on the finishing date, that is, the polling day and make sure that their strategy is strong and in place to get them successfully re-elected.

Well goodness knows, goodness knows what historians will write.

The protection of human rights to promote the dignity of the individual is too important a matter for symbolic gestures alone. It is only through the pursuit of practical and effective efforts to promote human rights that we show our real commitment to the welfare of individuals and society.

We ask that the length of the sentence be appealed in the Indonesian courts.

finding a peaceful and lasting solution to the nuclear issue.

There can be no justification for the continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters and I urge that they be released immediately,

vital interest in finding a constructive diplomatic solution to address the nuclear question.

Countries in the region must learn from the SARS experience,

These are principles on which our country has been built, as well as the United States, and in fact they are amongst the most important values that bind our two countries together,

that there are some people on earth who are so wicked and so evil that nothing can be done but to confront them.

They have indicated they are prepared to resume talks and before too long, within a reasonable time frame,

They have had a good hearing of their representation on obviously resuming the six-party talks and making sure some sort of process is put in place for nuclear disarmament in North Korea,

There will be a need for continued commitment and strong leadership by all parties, especially in the early implementation of plans for the disposal of weapons,

It will help curb identity fraud and possible misuse by people smugglers, terrorists and other transnational criminals.

It is very important that people take this warning seriously.

It's a deeply disturbing additional submission which confirms what (U.N. chief weapons inspector) Hans Blix was saying 10 days ago,

It's of some concern to us that the sentence is as short as it is. We're disappointed about that. We'd like to see a longer sentence,

nothing to worry about if they don't export components or fully made-up weapons of mass destruction.

A constructive, diplomatic solution to North Korea's nuclear crisis, which escalated just over a year ago, is vital for the security of our region and stability in North Asia and among our allies and top trading partners,

Their sort of ugly, sneering, amused attitude at the slaughter of innocent people is just horrific,

I'm not criticising the defence team, because I don't set myself up as the person who they should turn to for advice on their defence.

In addition, I will express Australian support for international efforts to meet the pressing humanitarian problems facing North Korea.

I don't think there's any need to be concerned about it, ... I think this is just another paragraph in a very long book of fiery rhetoric, that we've heard for many years.

You could hide things under a raincoat I suppose. I don't think we're going to ban raincoats.

The kangaroos appear to hop up and down when the page is moved backwards and forwards, and my department thinks that that is a very nice touch,