Bob Hawke

Brian Mulroney, myself, [and] Rajiv Gandhi; I think that was the real core [of the Commonwealth ]. That was the engine room,…

— Bob Hawke

While society cannot provide employment for its members, the production/work/income nexus has to be abandoned as a justification for our present parsimony…

— Bob Hawke

We [ with Brian Mulroney and Rajiv Gandhi] went to the meeting in Canada [the 1987 Vancouver CHOGM] and I said to…

— Bob Hawke

I told [ David Lange] he was crazy, because you can't have an alliance relationship if you refuse access to their ships.…

— Bob Hawke

I find a fence a very uncomfortable place to squat my bottom.

— Bob Hawke

There is a reciprocal respect for [ Elizabeth II], for her interest in the Commonwealth. The members of the Commonwealth recognise that…

— Bob Hawke

We are building together a nation in which there are no second-class Australians.

— Bob Hawke

I had no time for Indira Gandhi. She was too much in the Russian camp for my liking.

— Bob Hawke

I wrote a letter to our Australian newspaper about three weeks before the invasion and I said, "Osama bin Laden must be…

— Bob Hawke

I can't speak with authority about Emeka Anyaoku. I just didn't know him that well.

— Bob Hawke

George Bush Junior [George W Bush] was a religious fanatic, and Tony Blair wasn't far behind in a way.

— Bob Hawke

I felt completely ready to become prime minister. I came to office better equipped, in terms of knowledge of economics and of…

— Bob Hawke

I went along with it, and wanted to appoint a significant figure in Malcolm Fraser. I didn't have high hopes that they'd…

— Bob Hawke

One of the features of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings was [that] she [ Elizabeth II] would have a meeting with…

— Bob Hawke

The greatest stain upon this great Australian nation's character, without any question, is the great gaps that exist between our Aboriginal brothers…

— Bob Hawke

I was used on a number of occasions by the United States and China as a conduit. For instance, I was up…

— Bob Hawke

The things which are most important don’t always scream the loudest.

— Bob Hawke

In sum, the truth is that we luxuriate in the comfortable assertion that women enjoy equality. We have salved our consciences by…

— Bob Hawke

It was very much an Australian/New Zealand initiative to have a nuclear free South Pacific. And the Americans were very apprehensive about…

— Bob Hawke

Do you know why I have credibility? Because I don't exude morality.

— Bob Hawke

[ Rajiv Gandhi] was very reflective and rueful and regretful about the fact that his children's education...He wanted them to get educated…

— Bob Hawke

One fundamental issue which Trump did take advantage of was the increasing disparities of income in the United States. So many people…

— Bob Hawke

I could never afford to be in a position where I could do something stupid, so I gave up drinking.

— Bob Hawke

The world will not wait for us.

— Bob Hawke

It [also] lives on its history, now, to some extent: its achievements [ of the Commonwealth] in Rhodesia and South Africa, which…

— Bob Hawke