Relaxed
"I think the Indonesian government would be quite relaxed about that. After all, it was the Indonesian government itself which established the HRC." — Foreign minister Alexander Downer, on the government's decision to give $2 million in assistance to the Indonesian Human Rights Commission.
Better late — much better
"He [Suharto] ought to have put in place a more orderly process of transition before this." — Opposition leader Kim Beazley, who didn't mention whether the ALP had offered the Indonesian dictator such advice when it was in government.
Technically moral
"Technically we feel comfortable with the program, but morally we do not." — An IMF official, quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald, on the austerity program the fund has imposed on Indonesia.
We'd noticed
"A lot of her [Pauline Hanson's] thoughts are National Party policy." — NSW National MLA Russell Turner.
Or politically
"John Howard has been in a lot of ways a gentleman, and I respect him for the fact he is not out attacking me personally." — Pauline Hanson.
Program to die for
"You can't go to heaven if you're not prepared to die." — New Zealand finance minister Ruth Richardson, urging NZ-style public sector "reforms" on Fiji.
Keeping up morale
"If Victorian Supreme Court salaries were deliberately allowed to fall noticeably behind those of judges doing similar work in other states, morale would suffer and early retirements become more likely." — A Judicial Remuneration Tribunal report recommending a rise for Victorian Supreme Court judges, who are struggling on $176,000 a year.