Paul Keating quotes - page 2

The excesses of the 80s must not reappear in the 90s, The last thing we need now is a return to the 80s philosophy of 'greed is good' and that the only useful interest is self-interest. (Paul Keating)
I used to refer to him as Thallium, a slow acting dope. View quote
Paul Keating
The dogs may bark but the caravan moves on. View quote
Paul Keating
No choice we can make as a nation lies between our history and our geography. We can hardly change either of them. They are immutable. The only choice we can make as a nation is the choice about our future. View quote
Paul Keating
This is the sweetest victory of all. This is a victory for the true believers; the people who, in difficult times, have kept the faith. View quote
Paul Keating
It really surprises me that some people in this party think we owe Westpac something. Or the ANZ Bank. Or the National. View quote
Paul Keating
By the year 2000 we should be able to say that we have learned to live securely, in peace and mutual prosperity among our Asian and Pacific neighbours. We will not be cut off from our British and European cultures and traditions or from those economies. On the contrary, the more engaged we are economically and politically with the region around us, the more value and relevance we bring to those old relationships. Far from putting our identity at risk, our relationships with the region will energise it. View quote
Paul Keating
Hewson: I ask the Prime Minister: if you are so confident about your view of Fightback, why will you not call an early election? Keating: The answer is, mate, because I want to do you slowly. There has to be a bit of sport in this for all of us. In the psychological battle stakes, we are stripped down and ready to go. I want to see those ashen-faced performances; I want more of them. I want to be encouraged. I want to see you squirm out of this load of rubbish over a number of months. There will be no easy execution for you. You have perpetrated one of the great mischiefs on the Australian public with this thing, trying to rip away our social wage, trying to rip away the Australian values which we built in our society for over a century. View quote
Paul Keating
I think Australia has to be a country which has the 'Welcome' sign out. View quote
Paul Keating
I've always held the view that great states need strategic space. I mean, George Washington took his space from George III. Britain took it from just about everybody. Russia took all of Eastern Europe. Germany's taken it from everywhere they can, and China will want its space too. View quote
Paul Keating
When the Berlin Wall came down the Americans cried, 'Victory,' and walked off the field. (Paul Keating)
I think the Australian people are very conscientious. During the 1980s and 1990s we proved they will respond conscientiously to necessary reforms. They mightn't like them but they'll accept them. But reforms have to be presented in a digestible format. View quote
Paul Keating
Politicians come in three varieties: straight men, fixers, and maddies. View quote
Paul Keating
You see, psychologically, Australia must understand it has to live in the region around it. Australia must find its security in Asia; it cannot find its security from Asia. View quote
Paul Keating
One tires of combat, although I can still throw a punch, you know. View quote
Paul Keating
I think the rise of China is one of the great events of all economic and human history, and I think this will be overwhelmingly a positive thing for the region and the world. View quote
Paul Keating
Well, I think that - I think leadership's always been about two main things: imagination and courage. View quote
Paul Keating
In the end, rational policy is always good. View quote
Paul Keating
I try to use the Australian idiom to its maximum advantage. View quote
Paul Keating
You know, in the WikiLeaks cables, the Chinese discovered that Kevin Rudd was urging the Americans to keep the military option open against them. This is hardly a friendly gesture. View quote
Paul Keating
Nobody wants to have in their CV in the upper echelons of the American economic family that they nationalised major banks. (Paul Keating)
The G7, just a European centric show, an Atlantic show, is fundamentally finished. View quote
Paul Keating
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? View quote
Paul Keating
The great changes in civilisation and society have been wrought by deeply held beliefs and passion rather than by a process of rational deduction. View quote
Paul Keating
The great curse of modern political life is incrementalism. View quote
Paul Keating