Loose Cannons

June 4, 1997
Issue 

That's competition

"There are more than 100 mortgage lenders with a whole range of products; that's competition." — National Australia Bank spokesperson Haydn Clark, responding to criticisms of the fact that the four largest banks all passed on to lenders only 0.35% of the 0.5% reduction in official rates.

Thanks, Bill

"This European integration is a huge thing." — US President Bill Clinton, demonstrating his ability to grasp the "vision thing".

Moderate racists only

"We don't check people at the doors, but we are very much against radicals or extremists or anyone with an axe to grind being in the party." — David Ettridge, national director of Pauline Hanson's One Nation party.

March of progress

"New political figures are not creating liberal values, and today we live the same lie, maybe even a greater lie, than we lived under Brezhnev." — Yelena Bonner, widow of Andrei Sakharov, both of whom were prominent democratic dissidents under the Soviet regime.

Upper case 'D'?

"I believe Boris Yeltsin to be a true democrat." — US President Bill Clinton.

And pay for it

"There are bottlenecks there now; it's just [that] people will get to them quicker." — Arvo Tinni, general manager of Tollaust, on the company's new M-2 tollway in Sydney, which will pour traffic into non-express Epping Road.

Disaster avoided

"If the bomb had detonated, the supply of Coca-Cola in the country could have been affected." — Phnom Penh Post, reporting that Cambodian brick workers digging near a Coca-Cola plant had uncovered an unexploded 2000-pound bomb left from World War II.

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