List of Political Catch Phrases - Australia

Australia

• "For the first time, we have a nation for a continent, and a continent for a nation." Said by Sir Edmund Barton, first Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia, in the 1890s.
• "The forgotten people." Said in a 1942 speech by Robert Menzies, referring to the middle class, defined as lying between "the rich and powerful: those who control great funds and enterprises, and are as a rule able to protect themselves" and "the mass of unskilled people, almost invariably well-organised, and with their wages and conditions safeguarded by popular law".
• "The light on the hill." Said in a 1949 speech by Ben Chifley, referring to the objective of the Australian Labor Party: "not as putting an extra sixpence into somebody's pocket, or making somebody Prime Minister or Premier, but as a movement bringing something better to the people, better standards of living, greater happiness to the mass of the people. We have a great objective – the light on the hill".
• "It's Time." Used in the 1972 election campaign which saw Gough Whitlam defeat William McMahon after 23 years of Liberal government.
• "Well may we say 'God Save the Queen', because nothing will save the Governor-General." Said by dismissed Prime Minister Gough Whitlam on 11 November 1975 after he had been sacked by Governor-General Sir John Kerr.
• "Life wasn't meant to be easy." Attributed to Malcolm Fraser, Prime Minister of Australia from November 1975 until March 1983 (but is in fact a quotation from 'Back to Methuselah' by George Bernard Shaw).
• "If this government cannot get the adjustment ... and a sensible economic policy then Australia is basically done for. We will just end up being a third rate economy ... a banana republic." Said by Paul Keating in an interview to John Laws on 14 May 1986.
• "This is the recession that Australia had to have." Said by national Treasurer Paul Keating in 1990 regarding the late 1980s recession.
• "Please explain." Said by Pauline Hanson, founder of the anti-immigration One Nation Party, on being asked in October 1996 on the television show 60 Minutes if she was xenophobic.
• "We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come." Said by John Howard in relation to border protection.
• "Ease the squeeze" Said by Mark Latham.
• "Don't you worry about that" Said by Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen.
• "I call it feeding the chooks" Said by Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen.
• "Keep the bastards honest" – Don Chipp, leader of the Australian Democrats.
• "Working families." Used by Kevin Rudd during the 2007 election campaign.
• "Without throwing the fair go out the back door." Used by Kevin Rudd during the 2007 election campaign.
• "Fair shake of the sauce bottle" – Kevin Rudd.
• "Moving forward." – Julia Gillard, Prime Minister.
• "Yes we will." Julia Gillard at the Labor Party election launch for the 2010 Federal election.