No carrots
"It's not a carrot; it's a great big lump of money." — PM Paul Keating, asked whether a promise of $44 million for a new ferry between Tasmania and the mainland was a vote-buying carrot.
Small expectations
"I couldn't put myself in the situation where I woke up on March 3 as the failed candidate for Barton and unemployed." — Peter Olah, renouncing Liberal preselection for Barton when informed that standing required him to resign his public service job and office of mayor of Hurstville.
Or drink the petrol and burn the burger
"If they come in to buy fuel, they may then decide to buy McDonald's. Or it may happen the other way — people come in to buy McDonald's and then decide to purchase fuel." — Executive Bob Beard on a new Sydney McDonald's located in a Shell service station.
See no evil
"It is always possible to find evidence of poverty in any society, no matter how prosperous, if you look for it." — The
Sydney Morning Herald's right-wing commentator, Padraic P. McGuinness, defending labour market deregulation in New Zealand.
Lucky: we don't have to move it
"Geographically, Darwin is in the right place and our forces would have easy access to most parts of the Pacific." — US general, discussing Darwin as a possible base if US forces are thrown out of Okinawa.
Sensitive
"Sydney has always been sensitive to the needs of the IOC [International Olympic Committee]. I told President Samaranch today that the IOC must also be sensitive to NSW." — NSW Olympics minister Michael Knight after the IOC did a deal on 2000 Olympics TV rights which will cost NSW at least $130 million.