Australia's 2020 Summit

[iamnotacop]

The Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd will convene an Australia 2020 Summit at Parliament House on 19 and 20 April to help shape a long term strategy for the nation’s future.

 

The Summit will bring together some of the best and brightest brains from across the country to tackle the long term challenges confronting Australia’s future –challenges which require long-term responses from the nation beyond the usual three year electoral cycle.

 

To do this, the Government will bring together 1000 leading Australians to the national Parliament to debate and develop long-term options for the nation across 10 critical areas:

 

1. Future directions for the Australian economy – including education, skills, training, science and innovation as part of the nation’s productivity agenda

2. Economic infrastructure, the digital economy and the future of our cities

3. Population, sustainability, climate change and water

4. Future directions for rural industries and rural communities

5. A long-term national health strategy – including the challenges of preventative health, workforce planning and the ageing population

6. Strengthening communities, supporting families and social inclusion

7. Options for the future of indigenous Australia

8. Towards a creative Australia: the future of the arts, film and design

9. The future of Australian governance: renewed democracy, a more open government (including the role of the media), the structure of the Federation and the rights and responsibilities of citizens

10. Australia’s future security and prosperity in a rapidly changing region and world.

 

Participants will be selected by a 10 member non-government Steering Committee. The Summit will be co-chaired by the Prime Minister and Professor Glyn Davis, Vice Chancellor of the University of Melbourne.

 

This Steering Committee will select up to 100 participants in each of the Summit areas who will attend in a voluntary capacity. The participants will be drawn from business, academia, community and industrial organisations, the media and include a number of individual eminent Australians. Summit participants will be invited in their own right rather than as institutional representatives from any particular organisation. Each of the 10 Summit areas will be co-chaired by a Federal Government Minister and a member of the Steering Committee.

 

The Summit will have the following objectives:

 

* To harness the best ideas across the nation

* To apply those ideas to the 10 core challenges that the Government has identified for Australia – to secure our long-term future through to 2020

* To provide a forum for free and open public debate in which there are no predetermined right or wrong answers

* For each of the Summit’s 10 areas to produce following the Summit options for consideration by government

* For the Government to produce a public response to these options papers by the end of 2008 with a view to shaping the nation’s long-term direction from 2009 and beyond.

 

In providing this response, the Government in providing may accept some options and reject others – but will provide its reasons for embracing its course of action for the future.

 

The Government has no interest in a talkfest. The Government’s interest is in harnessing and harvesting ideas from the community that are capable of being shaped into concrete policy actions.

 

Government, irrespective of its political persuasion, does not have a monopoly on policy wisdom. To thrive and prosper in the future we need to draw on the range of talents, ideas and energy from across the Australian community.

 

For too long Australian policymaking has been focused on short-term outcomes dictated by the electoral cycle. If Australia is to effectively confront the challenges of the future, we need to develop an agreed national direction that looks at the next ten years and beyond.

 

For these reasons, the Government will also be inviting the Leader of the Federal Opposition to participate in the Summit, together with State Premiers, Chief Ministers and their Opposition counterparts.

 

In addition to those participating in the Summit, all Australians will be invited to make submissions on each of the 10 future challenges. These will be submitted to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet which will act as the secretariat for the Summit.

 

The Rudd Government believes Australians, whatever their political views, can come together to build a modern Australia capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st century.

 

 

 

 

Submissions

 

Contributing a submission to the Australia 2020 Summit is a way for all Australians to be involved in bringing the best ideas forward to address Australia’s long term challenges.

 

All submissions will be made publicly available on this website and will be presented to the Australia 2020 Summit participants to stimulate discussion and ideas about addressing our future challenges.

 

Individuals, schools, groups, and organisations are invited to make submissions.

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Submissions must be received no later than 5:00pm Wednesday 9 April 2008.

 

Written submissions are limited to 500 words per topic and should focus on one of the ten identified areas. You may contribute a submission in one or more policy areas.

 

Submissions will be collected by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, which is acting as a secretariat for the Australia 2020 Summit.

 

All submissions require a ‘name for publication’. This can be an individual, group or organisation. In addition to this, each submission is required to include a contact person, their name and details. These contact details will not be published.

 

Your submission can play an important role in our national discussion about our future and facing Australia’s long term future challenges.

http://www.australia2020.gov.au/submissions/index.cfm

 

This is what I need help with. Do people think that section 5 or section 6 will be better to make submissions to, in regards to drug law reform? I personally feel number 6, because drug use/abuse is at the heart of families and communities. Even someone who does not get into trouble with their drug use is still considered a criminal under our archaic laws.

 

 

 

So come all you writers/reformers/activists out there, write a submission and help our cause. PLEASE. We don't get too many chances like this, so lets make the most of it. If we don't even try, then we have no reason to winge at all. This may be our chance to get our voices heared, and get the discussion started.

 

 

Fuck me, it ends on 420 (april 20), surely that must be some kind of sign!!

Edited February 27, 2008 by iamnotacop

[Gee]

i agree with going for number 6. i might have a think about what i'd write though i'm only relatively new to the propaganda against smoking pot. i doubt they'd read past "...and i like getting high cos it's more fun than licking toads". April 20 is a fair coincidence.

[godonacid]

im still disappointed big kev never sent me an invite, i would have been good at his summit, ive got ideas i want tabled .

[blackheartedprofit]

I think an essay on No: 9 would be far more appropriate, bring the debate into where it truly lies and that is the rights of the individual!

[lightning]

I think Nos.5,6 & 9 could all be addressed with regard the current drug laws as could be 3&4 with reference to the healing to degradated land that hemp can bring and the fibre it produces per hectare compared to cotton or trees for the water it uses and therefore it's sustainability as a crop of high value.

 

I for one will be looking to write submissions for each topic,

keepin it to five hundred words when dealing with complex subjects is often a challenge though