Loose cannons

Positive thinking

"We'd like to see the [Affirmative Action] Agency in a more positive role, as a resource centre, not as it's seen now, as an enforcer." — Reg Hamilton, from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, calling for an end to penalties for companies that violate affirmative action laws.

Not hard to do

"Forget the age-old ideology war between Democrats and Republicans." — Eric Ellis' "America Observed" column in the Financial Review.

And then resign

"The [military services] require leaders who can think for themselves, who can reflect on issues and who are not frightened to raise questions about orders given to them." — Dr Graeme Cheeseman, senior lecturer at the Australian Defence Force Academy.

Kemp 22

"We are starting off with about 70% of staff in most of our offices, less in some other areas." — The national manager of one of the new privatised unemployment agencies, many of which need government payment of "success" fees before they can operate at full scale.

Isolated incidents

"People would like to think perhaps it is an isolated incident, but you start to worry how many isolated incidents there are out there." — A Hong Kong-based economist, quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald on the failure of Chinese banks to repay $94 million in term deposits.

Qualified

"I did not even know that Dubai was an ocean port." — Dr Stephen Webster, Peter Reith's senior maritime adviser, last year employed by Reith's department on a two-month consultancy for $95,000.

Great leap sideways

"It's not such a big leap for my son from the right wing of the Labor Party to the left wing of the Liberal Party." — Former NSW ALP minister Don Day on his son Bill, who stood as a Labor candidate for Clarence twice in the '80s and is now contesting it for the Liberals.

From GLW issue 316