Australia21 today released a discussion paper that has been
prepared for a high level roundtable being held in late January on "What
to do about Inequality in Australia? The paper was prepared for Australia21 by
Professor Sharon Friel, Professor of
Health Equity, National Centre for
Please remember that as a small non-profit research
organisation Australia21 is dependent upon donations from the public to fund
its work. If you would like to make a donation, you can do so by visiting our
website at www.australia21.org.au.
Donations of $2 and over are tax deductible.
For an organisation dedicated to research, especially research oriented to contemporary policy issues, a key issue is always to identify the researchable question(s), to ensure that our efforts add to the sum of human knowledge rather than the chorus of opinion that swirls around the big issues of the day. Many of our workshops are directed to that end – we identify an issue that we think is important, and convene a meeting of high level thinkers, some with expertise directly relevant to the subject matter, others from other domains whom we think would make a contribution, and ask these people to help us to frame the researchable question.
We think that it is equally important to ask the nation’s leading thinkers to help us to switch on the over-the-horizon radar and think about what the really big questions might be in the years ahead, and last year we formalised this as an Australia 21 project, one to which we could invite leading thinkers to make an attributable contribution, but to which we could invite any of our fellow Australians to make a contribution.
To that end, Australia21 has created a global on-line space for eminent Australians to ask the questions designed to create a new conversation about the future. This project is led by Australia 21 Executive Officer Dr Lynne Reeder, and Australia 21 Director Deb Lavis.
The project’s formal launch, in April 2009, brought together Nobel Laureate Professor Peter Doherty; Australia’s Chief Scientist, Professor Penny Sackett; and former Australian of the Year and Child Advocate Professor Fiona Stanley, who asked their next big question, identified its importance and outlined its implications for Australia’s future.
The two-year project was officially launched in Canberra by Professor Frank Fenner, who played a major role in overseeing the eradication of smallpox from the world. It also featured a question by a young Australian National University student, Tom Sloan.
In addition to the online questions in either video or audio format — events are also being held. They provide opportunities for asking the next big question on topics such as social inclusion, corporate social responsibility and food safety in a time of climate change.
The questions are captured on the Australia21 website here, which is designed to facilitate the interactive nature of the project — inviting all Australians to submit what they consider to be the next big question.
To date questions have been asked on climate change, human rights, population levels, governance arrangements, health measures, social inclusion, participation of young people, new economic systems and others.
The questions are being analysed in a report which will be released every six months over the two years of this project. The analysis will seek to determine the trends and identify the major questions that need to be addressed to create an enhanced future.
Over the next eighteen months other distinguished Australians in all discipline areaswill be asking what they consider to be thenext big question. The specific goals of this project are:
- To inquire into ground-breaking and visionary questions to ensure Australia remains capable of addressing its long term sustainability
- To make an exceptional contribution to the essential thinking and responses to the unprecedented challenges facing Australia in the world of today
- To access insightful thinking and applications to influence broader industry planning and government policy
- To engage Australians in a conversation to identify new thinking around the challenges facing our long-term future.
A major launch of the final report will take place to coincide with Australia21’s 10 year anniversary in March 2011.
If you would like to submit your next big question — please do so here.
For the past twelve months, the Australia 21 ecosystems team has put its efforts into promoting the development of a National Ecosystem Service Strategy (NESS) and a National Ecosystem Services Network (NESN).
This work is led by Geoff Gorrie, Chair of the A21 Ecosystems team that includes Australia 21 Fellow Mike Archer, Australia 21 Scholars Peter Ampt, Phillipa Rowland and Simone Maynard, Dr Jeremy Thompson, Dr Allan Dale and A21 Chairman Professor Bob Douglas.
Evidence of the diminishing health of Australian ecosystems is unfortunately not hard to find, with evident decline in soil fertility, fisheries stocks, water quality and quantity and loss of carbon sinks that help local/regional climate regulation. There is both a national and a global sense of urgency about the need for a coherent strategy to preserve ecosystems and the services they provide to humans. This is highlighted in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment conducted by the United Nations (access the Assessment home page here) and recognised by the Obama Administration which on 6 January 2009 announced a new section of its Department of Agriculture, entitled the Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets, to be headed by a new appointee Dr Sally Collins (seehere).
The concept of ecosystem services is becoming more widely recognised in research and policy and has the potential to provide the framework for better planning and management, leading to ecologically sustainable development. An ecosystem services approach is being applied to Southeast Queensland catchments and is becoming recognised as leading the world. Research networks are already focused on ecosystem service provision. Some groundbreaking work with indigenous communities has highlighted the possibilities for payments to groups who, by their actions, are enhancing ecosystem service provision on the vast and important indigenous estate.
Great potential can be generated by fostering enthusiasm and passion from innovators and bringing them together in a flexible network that brings together the interests, skills and capacities of Federal and State Governments, the private sector, research communities, local regional bodies and civil society. An approach that encourages collaboration and ownership and builds on existing activity, while creating opportunities for a broad consistent approach to the national valuation of the essential suite of services could, Australia 21 believes, contribute very substantially to the solution of many natural resource issues including biodiversity conservation, bio-sequestration of carbon and indigenous employment.
Cross-sectoral learning from each other appears to have the greatest likelihood of success in rapidly building ecosystem services into the future Australian economy.
In its preliminary proposal for a NESN, the Australia 21 Ecosystems team is suggesting that NESN members would have the responsibility for overseeing the implementation of a world leading strategy to be at the heart of the activities of regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) bodies around Australia. The NESN would have responsibility for overseeing the data needs, the research activity, and the development of a framework for a coordinated regional approach to the assessment and management of ecosystem services across the nation.
To further develop these ideas for an NESN, Australia 21 is currently seeking support from funding agents, to undertake discussions and a roundtable with the many stakeholders who would be needed to make the national strategy operational.
