Some of you might have remembered my column last month previewing two of the discussion leaders for the 2020 Summit. Well, the results are in, and let’s look at what they have come up with.
Cate was a real trooper, having a baby and still turning up in Canberra for the summit. There were a couple of good ideas that came out of Towards a Creative Australia. Protecting and showcasing Indigenous art and culture was a good direction and digitising collections from major national institutions was another. But the rest of the ideas were underwhelming.
Most of the ideas revolved around more funding, or more art teachers in schools. I had high hopes for this section of the summit. With Australia’s most creative personalities locked in a room, I thought we would see some really out-of-the-box ideas to re-invigorate Australia’s creative culture and identity. It’s obvious that artists know how to make art not facilitate it.
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The governance scorecard:
The second discussion leader I profiled was News Ltd chief John Hartigan, head of The Future of Australian Governance stream. It was no surprise that the Freedom of Information campaigner would have ‘Open and accountable government’ on the list of Big Ideas. But the headline grabber was the Australian Republic, causing many a monarchist to get their knickers in a twist over the republican ‘bias’ of the summit. There was the mandatory rhetoric of ‘reinvigorating the federation’ and creating a ‘collaborative government’ which didn’t create any policy goals or outcomes.
I was impressed with two other ideas:
• Automatic Enrolment: voids the stupidity brought in by the Howard Government, of young adults not being eligible to vote because they missed the enrolment deadline.
• A Bill or Charter of Rights: If it is introduced, hopefully it will get the benefits Americans enjoy of freedom of speech and human rights, without the drawback of not being able to control guns.
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Other Ideas:
The rhetoric continued throughout, of social inclusion, greater productivity, an emphasis on Indigenous peoples and tackling climate change. But there were plenty of diamonds in the rough.
The productivity agenda
Reducing HECS-HELP through a community corps.
A national curriculum with savings, from efficiency and duplication, being fed back into the system.
Options for the future of indigenous Australia
More funds for Indigenous communities with economic development strategies.
Value and use Indigenous knowledge.
Support the UN Declaration on Rights of Indigenous peoples.
The future of the Australian economy
Create national infrastructure priorities and a priority-setting body.
Develop fluid career paths between the public and private sector.
A long term National Health strategy
Creating a national preventative health agency.
An opt-out system for organ donation.
Population, sustainability, climate change, water
Carbon neutrality for all new buildings constructed beyond 2020.
A national population and immigration policy for the national interest.
Future Directions for rural industries and rural communities
Nationwide standardisation and harmonisation, including: uniform regulation, licensing, standards and enforcement for transport (both road and rail) and agriculture. With incentives and penalties linked to the performance of states reforming these areas.
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The Emperor Strikes Back
Howard struck back when he suggested the opposition would be in a better position if they defended the previous government’s policies. Several words came to mind - narcissistic, delusional and out of touch. What would Howard know? He’s been off on speaking tours in the US for the past six months.
But the most telling was the significant lack of leadership shown by the Liberal party. Instead of defending their change of direction, the whole caucus smiled and gave a standing ovation. It’s the lack of leadership that didn’t tap Howard on the shoulder before the last election which is coming home to bite them now.
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