I'm a workaholic. I would not pretend to be anything else. I rarely go to bed before one o'clock in the morning. I might kind of have a spa between half-past twelve and one and relax, and that's when I do my thinking, or my non-thinking. That's when I have a bit of space for myself.

A lot of young women ask me, 'Can you go into politics and maintain your ideals?' Well, I think you can. You might not, in any one interview, tell the whole truth, but to deliberately deceive the public who've elected you is totally unacceptable.

I used to get into the government car and switch on Chopin or someone I liked to hear at the end of a parliamentary day.

Joan Kirner Quotes