If you have a difficult message to deliver in any circumstance, it’s always best to do it first up-front, and probably be a bit harder than you have to be because it’s always easier to be nicer afterwards. – Kerry Stokes
I don’t wish hardship on anybody. My background was one of being very difficult, very hard, and they were subject to the times I lived in. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. – Kerry Stokes
I am a pretty tough nut, I guess, and I love art as one of the expressions that probably appeals to my softer side that a lot of people would deny I had. – Kerry Stokes
I just decided that I wasn’t going to gain anything by going to school, since we couldn’t afford it anyway, so I left school very early and went to work and progressively did things. – Kerry Stokes
If you have a difficult marriage, it’s the hard times that make it better. If you have a relationship, it’s the hard times that actually make it better, and that goes for life as well. – Kerry Stokes
I’ve been very lucky because Perth has been very good to me. I’ve enjoyed my journey and met so many wonderful people. – Kerry Stokes
You can choose a direction that will take you into something that isn’t going to take you where you want to go, or you can choose another direction which is down the right pathway. – Kerry Stokes
With WesTrac, you have real people doing real jobs with real problems and real opportunities, and you touch the metal, and it’s like being grounded. – Kerry Stokes
I love Perth. It is my home, and no matter where I am in the world, Perth is where my heart is. – Kerry Stokes
Ethics or simple honesty is the building blocks upon which our whole society is based, and business is a part of our society, and it’s integral to the practice of being able to conduct business, that you have a set of honest standards. – Kerry Stokes
At one stage, I didn’t have any money, so I slept on the streets for a few nights. It wasn’t uncommon in the 1950s, and it wasn’t uncommon to be out of money. There wasn’t anywhere to go to get money. – Kerry Stokes
I ended up in Broadmeadows orphanage – I don’t know how that happened – whether she gave me up for adoption or the church was responsible. Whatever happened, she was a single mum. – Kerry Stokes
Our balance sheet provides us with the ability to act on investment opportunities in appropriate areas that diversify and broaden our portfolio, including the gas and energy sector. – Kerry Stokes
I haven’t got a problem with scrutiny. If it gets hot in the kitchen, don’t cook a meal. People should be able to criticise us – it’s completely appropriate. – Kerry Stokes
I’m lucky I had signposts in my life. At important times, I got pointed in the right direction by particular circumstances. – Kerry Stokes
You can be involved in media, and you can be involved in all the handbag hurling that goes along with it, and it’s a different world. – Kerry Stokes
Every father loves their children. I love my two sons very dearly. The only thing that is important to me is that they do what they want to do. They shouldn’t feel a sense of obligation. – Kerry Stokes
I have always been comfortable that no one has been able to assess what I really have. – Kerry Stokes
Frankly, if you can sell something at $80 a tonne that cost you $20 a tonne, you might want to sell as much as you can. – Kerry Stokes
I have a fear of public speaking. It’s very hard work. Words are not my skill, and because they’re not my skill, I have to work doubly hard. – Kerry Stokes
