Vilification on the grounds of race or religion is always wrong. There's no place for inciting hatred within our Australia society.

No government, no organisation, no citizen can afford to be less than vigilant in combating bigotry, intolerance and hatred. And frankly, our way of life depends on that vigilance.

In commendably seeking to protect freedom of speech, we must not lower our defences against the evil of racial and religious intolerance.

If you've stacked on the weight over time, and if you don't have any health issues, you don't realise. So you'll see yourself in the mirror and, yes, you know what the scales say, but you don't actually see what other people see.

My parents are huge influences on me. My mother was an English teacher. My father played professional rugby and coached rugby for the Irish rugby team.

Wine to me is something that brings people together. Wine does promote conversation and promote civility, but it's also fascinating. It's the greatest subject to study. No matter how much you learn, every vintage is going to come at you with different factors that make you have to think again.

Education is the vaccine for violence.

After I finished school, I headed for Los Angeles, thinking, 'Movies. Beaches.' But I wanted to do serious stage work, so I upped sticks and moved to New York to study. I did the usual day jobs to support myself - waiting on tables, washing dishes, parking cars, anything to pay the rent. I was a terrible waiter, by the way.