Loose cannons

Duty calls

"Cabinet members should be more deeply involved in issues, and some of them might care to stay in Australia and do some work. It's been hard to find them in Australia this year." — Federal Labor backbencher Peter Cleeland, MP for McEwen in Victoria.

Bad career choice

"It makes me think, I gave up a good profession to go into politics." — Peter Macdonald, former doctor, on the dirty campaign run against him by Liberals for the seat of Manly in the NSW election.

For the voters

"I have been working in politics since I was 24. It has been a very engaging 18 years but it has become a law of diminishing returns." — NSW Labor right-wing Senator Stephen Loosley, announcing his retirement from the Senate.

Shame!

"Clover Moore is a disgrace to her gender and she is for what all decent women are against. She's all for breaking down traditional values and cutting away the democratic rights of the timber industry." — NSW Liberal MLA Alby Shultz.

Never would have guessed

"Unfortunately, there is a consequence to having a busy airport in the middle of a city. Aircraft make noise." — Civil Aviation Authority advertisement about Sydney airport's third runway.

Parliamentary democracy

"No knowledgeable mind could doubt that the entrenchment of a constitutional right of free speech in the individual was ... inconsistent with the maintenance of parliamentary democracy." — Former chief justice Sir Garfield Barwick.

From GLW issue 182