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The rollercoaster adventures of parenting three kids, dealing with disability and mental health - and discussing disability discrimination and how to tackle it.

Tuesday 19 February 2008

Nominate for the Australia 2020 Summit

Much has been made of the Prime Minister’s initiative to hold an Australia 2020 Summit at Parliament House on 19 and 20 April to help shape a long term strategy for the nation’s future. His aim is to “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”. People have dismissed it as a useless talkfest (“Ruddfest”), while others have commended him for at least attempting to think outside the square normally set by party politics.

Whatever you think about it, consider this. Disability might not be a topic of conversation at the Summit. The government has so far listed the following 10 critical areas to be contemplated:


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.


We could squeeze disability under “health” (point 5) or “inclusion” (point 6). But we need to make sure someone puts it there.

So.

Nomination forms can be downloaded from the Australia 2020 website or call toll fee on 1800 703 599. They must be in by 25 February 2008.

Go on. Nominate yourself!

1 comment:

Rat2 said...

When I first heard about the Summit, I created a wiki for the 20,699,000 of us that are not invited. It’s at http://ozideas.wetpaint.com. It’s free and you don’t have to register if you don’t want to. At the site, you can post your own ideas under a dozen different categories, discuss other people’s ideas, and vote on the best ones. There’s even a place to sign an online petition to the Prime Minster to get these ideas heard at the Summit. It’s taking advantage of teh best the web and online community has to offer, spurring a two-way conversation that can accomodate 21 million people.

It act as an viral advertisement, I also created a YouTube video of the Prime Minister breakdancing. Check that out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQZa17-Dt_4.

Let me know what you think. Always open to good ideas.