If I was to describe myself in terms of a political philosophy, I'd cast myself as a social and economic liberal, which is typically what people describe as being left-of-centre on social issues and right-of-centre on economic issues.

What I am interested in are the philosophies of the future. That's what drives me.

What I would like to build is a new centre, a wider, broader centre, which would encompass a lot of different philosophies - you know, the philosophy that I'm putting forward that is a market liberal philosophy and a socially liberal philosophy but would have room in it for a broader church than that.

I'll demand of myself and my own government what, in the past, I insisted of others.

I started my career as an urban planner, working for the city, doing what I would call 'do-gooder' things, particularly for low-income neighborhoods.

I always say I was a liberal, but I wasn't active in politics. I just assumed I was a liberal because I was black and I was a woman. And I know now that sounds really foolish, but I had different priorities.

I'm still very much plugging away. But if I can build my career, I'll do it like Eric Bana. He has a family; he has his roots. He still loves Melbourne. He's a great role model to have.

When you're a crime reporter, you see the nub of what life's about, and you don't have much patience for the falsity of politics.