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We have a great literary tradition in Australia. I think the book is very much alive and the more people who are encouraged to read books the better our society will be and the wiser our society will be.
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The great works belong to no one nation, no one cultural tradition even. They are universal.
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I think it's important to have a blend just as we need to have by the way a mix of different opera companies and different arts companies.
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One of the things about federal politics is that it has been remarkably free of corruption.
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I'm confident as a supporter of same sex marriage, I'm confident that there'll be a yes vote in that plebiscite, and that the parliament will then move very swiftly to implement the will of the people.
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As a Liberal of course I am very strongly committed to the notion of artistic freedom and very hostile to the idea of there being a single view of cultural policy dictated from on high.
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Historically, it's very unusual after a change of government for the new government not to be returned.
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I am the enemy of anything parochial.
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I am a very, very strong advocate of the notion that we shouldn't equate the arts with other aspects of infrastructure. They have a unique role in any civilised society and that requires appropriate and targeted government support.
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We need to tell Australian stories,we need to encourage and fund and present Australian work but we also need to understand that for a sophisticated, educated, culturally aware, modern nation we can't be parochial.