The Government Response outlines ideas that will be implemented, those that will be explored further and those which, at this time, will not proceed. To see the full report, visit www.australia2020.gov.au   

A diverse group of local people - including business owners, teachers, school and university students, police officers, union delegates, local councillors, representatives of disability support groups, and migrant and indigenous community leaders - came together to share their ideas and make recommendations on the important issues facing Australia.

AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY 

Facilitator: Dr. Pieter Nagel  

Notes:

• Skills shortage and training
• Education for 2030
• Productivity and sustainability in the workplace
• Better utilisation of the skills of migrants and refugees
• TAFE, funding for training and attracting people to teaching
• Best provide for students
• IT skills
• Education, youth and families
• Housing crisis, interest rates and rental crisis

Addressing the Skills Shortage

• Need to address the problem of TAFE teacher shortages, particularly in trades.

• Need to find a way to capitalise on the skills of retired and semi-retired people in the education market, and develop incentives to bring these people back into the profession.
• Part of the difficulty in attracting people to TAFE teaching is because teachers are not paid enough. Some third-year apprentices earn more than teachers and this needs to be addressed.
• Examine the development of an integrated strategy between State and Federal government spheres - a whole of government approach to training and education.
• Business needs also needs to be involved, so that it can inform government about the skills it requires, and will require in the future, so that funding can be targeted to training and work experience that would address those shortages.
• Need to better plan our economy and education for the future. Do we have sufficient mechanisms in place to predict accurately the skills that will be needed in the future?
• Examine how we deal with the recognition of qualifications and skills gained overseas so that new migrants can be made ‘work ready’ more quickly. It is currently a very expensive and complex process, which is often difficult for new migrants to fund and navigate.
• Businesses need to be given more incentives to take on young people as apprentices.
• Need to re-evaluate the traditional education system that includes a broader participation of stakeholders (schools, employers, retired people, etc.)
• Where does VCE skilling and education lead students? Can teachers also be better informed on the needs of the economy so as to better equip students for life after school?

 Productivity 

• Need more information on effectiveness of work organisation, workers’ opinions of managers and processes that workers are involved in. More of a ‘bottom-up’ approach, rather than ‘top-down’ approach.
• We need a broader survey of the workforce and include a wide range of stakeholders, not just employers and employees.
• Potential improvement in the economy through a more integrated system of stakeholders. Get people to talk to each other.
• A social dialogue – as used in New Zealand and Ireland – where representatives from different sectors (e.g. unions, farmers) discuss with each other the economic needs of the future.
• Can we develop a national work-ready database that will record people’s skills, experience and qualifications or training. This would help us map where the people with the necessary skills are.
• Managers and workers need to be properly skilled to do their job. Hence there needs to be a process of learning, re-learning and continuous training, taking into account technological developments.

 Economy

• Need to ascertain an integrated picture of the future direction of the economy, what skills are going to be needed to supply that economy.
• Perhaps we need to diversify the composition of the Reserve Bank board. More community involvement on the Bank board, so the board understands more accurately the real impact that interest rate rises have on people.
• Need to address skills shortage to alleviate the pressures of inflation and interest rates. Also need to boost workforce participation in order to solve the tight labour market.
• Cost of living pressures make it difficult for people to do things to make them more employable or ‘work ready’, i.e. going to TAFE or studying at university.
• Need to provide proper income support for students while they are studying. Students are also stakeholders in our economy.
• All states have different regulations on rents – when they can rise, by how much etc. Is there a way that this can be changed to make it nationally consistent or place it in the hands of an independent body?
• Interest rates are not the problem – the problem is the size of loans being taken out today because of the large demand for housing and vacant blocks. Some of this is encouraged by developers in areas like ours, who release land in stages so that supply never meets demand and prices are pushed up.

 Recommendations:

1. Develop a system to help all stakeholders understand where the economy is going, so that we can ascertain what skills will be required in the future and adjust training and education programs and funding accordingly.
2. Develop a system that allows employers to recognise people’s breadth of skills – particularly the ‘hidden’ skills – not just the those for which they have formal qualifications.
3. Develop greater integration and communication between different stakeholders in the Australian economy, especially between different spheres of government, industry, migrants, retirees, youth and students, so that we can more accurately map the direction in which the economy is going and plan for the future. 
4. Room for a more co-ordinated view of the education environment and how it relates to the economy than has historically been the case.
5. Make the connection between the circular relationships between mortgage stress and inflation and the skills crisis. If we address the skills crisis, we will increase productivity and this will, in turn, address inflation and interest rates.

SUSTAINABILITY & CLIMATE CHANGE

Facilitator:      Peter Creamer 

• Address continuing growth in urban centres: Develop regional centres with incentives to attract industry, employment, entertainment, transport and services to help alleviate problems associated with growth in major cities. Need to re-imagine cities and the needs of commuters, families etc. through the prism of climate change and environmental sustainability.  
• Carbon reduction targets and incentives for business: Urgent need to clarify carbon reduction targets, including intermediate targets. Place for new legislation and regulations in this area, including carbon taxes, to create economic incentives for business and industry and to reduce cost impacts of developing environmentally sustainable products and practices. Education alone will not facilitate change, must increased funding for planning of programs.
• Educating the community about what they can do: Need for increased community education programs to inform people and businesses about the practical measures they can take to help alleviate the effects of climate change.
• Audit of water use in Australia: Must look at unsustainable need for water for certain industries, like meat production, cotton, rice, etc. and the possibility of using water collected through desalination, recycling, etc. There is a need for a comprehensive water audit of actual supply and demand for Australia and the development of incentives for new, more water-efficient technologies.
• Economic versus Environmental imperatives: Economic imperatives and environmental imperatives very often contradict each other. It might be economically advantageous to make certain products overseas, which can be made in Australia more sustainably.
• Impact of people living longer: Question of quality of life issues now that people are living longer. How do we secure people’s wellbeing sustainably after retirement? Need for examination of concept of work as we age.

HEALTH

 Facilitator: Ian Rouse

Big themes:

• Retention of health professionals in workforce over time
• Access to needed services on time at a reasonable cost
• Mental health challenge
• Support for community groups supporting people with particular needs
• Training of workforce – getting right skills
• Young people’s health, especially mental health

Notes:

• Big budget surplus – invest in health networks.
• Access to services – who is eligible at all levels.
• Mental health
• Old or young
• Appointments, waiting lists and waiting times.
• More doctors, nurses – allied health.
• Recognition of older people supporting themselves.
• Community groups need support
• Aged care accreditation – looks at paper records of building and services not impact for people in care
• Young people in nursing homes
• Medical teaching at VU – or just create more teaching places elsewhere
• Are there enough doctors?
• Opportunities for practice-training
• Why are beds closed – lack of funding, health professionals
• Nurses – ageing, capacity to keep working, pay, conditions
• Lots of qualified nurses not in practice: how do we get them back?
• Working hours is an issue for health professionals
• Bed blocking – where can the patient when ready for next stage of care, but not need a hospital bed
• Pay for medication – for those with need for extensive access – disabled, aged, those with a chronic illness
• Continuum of care – how allow people move through care needs
• Review of funding system – a framework to cover the needs
• Casemix – does the formula need updating?
• Mental health
• Youth: what support, where is it, how do people know?  Big issue for West
• Framework for services behind international good practice
• Youth task force – tackle local problems, provide activity and purpose for younger people
• Healthy lifestyle – obesity
• Service system – workers there but not sufficiently resourced; following population growth (West growth areas)
• System OK – but, for example, HACC needs more resources
• Incentives for doctors and nurses to work in public hospitals and services
• Private hospitals able to do better
• Too much paperwork for health professionals
• Hands-on experience in training – practical aspects for learning
• Ensuring trainees are aware of what work is like
• Emergency departments under too much stress
• Bulk billing for GPs – get it back: people now go to emergency and hospitals
• Nurse practitioners to reduce pressure on doctors
• Triaging practice
• More courses for health training professions
• Nurses on line – extend to GP advice (training for this?)
• Ensure standard and skill level maintained/suitable
• Access to health courses and charges
• Children and influences – advertising about food. Increase focus on fitness.
• School students have little knowledge of mental health support providers
• Youth suicide – not diagnosed to allow action
• Job Network – dealing with the mental challenges of clients who seem to have little access to services
• No NGOs in growth corridors
• Aged people not accessing services because often find it difficult to understand system, forms, and requirements
• Too much focus on the ‘bottom line’ – profitability driving services
• Abolish States
• Many levels of Government – how are they connected? Perhaps a need to consider abolishing the States.
• Service approaches different across State borders – e.g. to give blood in another State is difficult
• Employers – should they support workers with health costs and insurance
• How can schools educate us better for our own future good health?

INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIA

 Facilitator: Anne Jones 

• Group supported the idea that we can learn from New Zealand in relation to the treaty. Reasons for success – Maori people must be included in Government decisions, e.g. life expectancy and the Treaty is embedded in Constitution.
• Need to address the school and university curricula so that we can raise awareness about Indigenous issues for all Australians. Make it part of life – history, culture, art.
• NSW school system requires an Indigenous perspective in all subjects throughout the curriculum. Relies on the teachers to take this on – should be compulsory as a core value. Done in US and NZ – where teachers are supported pre service as well as in service.
• Curriculum Standards Framework: teachers don’t tend to cover the unfamiliar history.
• Exchange of students – goodwill ambassadors to put a human face to the Indigenous story.
• Complexity of Indigenous issues:  should be addressed as part of all 2020 topics – central to Australia’s identity and its place in the world.
• Solutions shouldn’t be imposed – empower Indigenous communities to take action.
• Need for hope and leadership to move forward.
• Indigenous issues should not be compared with migrant issues – Indigenous culture is intrinsically linked to land.
• Intervention strategy NT: Good that government acknowledged the problem and needs resources, but not appropriate approach. Quick fix can trivialise the issues.  What is a better approach? Supporting and sustaining regional communities – creating work and a robust economy. Why aren’t Indigenous people employed rather than pursuing skilled migration? What would it take? Building an understanding of Indigenous culture through education exchanges, work placements, grants/tax relief to involve remote Indigenous community,
• Issue of isolation: 24% in remote and 55% are ‘isolated’ within metropolitan communities. Need to start with ‘how’ to work with Indigenous communities – how do we link to community? Back to treaty. Building obligation.
• Multiple disadvantage example – Indigenous families live around the corner from care but are isolated.  Need to outreach to Indigenous communities within the metro area.
• Governments need to listen first and find out how to work with Indigenous communities – ask about appropriate housing. There is no ‘norm’. Let’s do real consultation and use Indigenous people’s knowledge – self determination. This idea was supported by the group.
• Set targets across the whole range of services – health, housing, education etc… join up the approach and back up with appropriate resources – there needs to be long-term, not short-term, solutions.
• Funding – need incentives. Medicare is underutilised by Aboriginal people. Now GPs are asked to identify Aboriginality – funding follows – make it easy for Indigenous people, reduce the judgement. Mainstream needs to be culturally aware – questions may be an affront. Be aware of skin, kinship, culture.
• Retain Indigenous people in school – create pathways from school to TAFE, Higher Education and so that Indigenous people can be the leaders, teachers, academics, doctors and other professionals of the future.
• Building community – start locally in providing services. ‘Gathering Place’ partnerships with police, health services – building Indigenous leadership. Planning and resourcing local community building – infrastructure needs. These issues hold the service back.  Indigenous service delivery is not easily identifiable and therefore doesn’t attract the resources – budget, staff and facilities. Look at outcomes in Indigenous way rather than non-Indigenous way. Needs serious investment.
• Indigenous representation in Parliament is essential. Indigenous President in the new Republic - always.

Recommendation: 

• That there be a post-2020 Summit on Indigenous Australia to act on the ideas.

GOVERNANCE

Facilitator: Bernadine Van Gramberg

Notes:

• Building youth who are interested in governance issue – this is a medium to long term proposition.
• Harnessing social and intellectual capacities of new arrivals to Australia.
• Multicultural policy – deeper, ‘nitty gritty’.
• Governance as a broader discourse – model of governance replicated in other, smaller organisations.
• Governance as leadership.
• Governance programmes that are more inclusive, starting from a youth perspective – and delivered in plain language.
• Importance of direct feed-back from the 2020 Summits, feeding back to the grass-roots level (from Member’s office).
• Education regarding electoral process, particularly for new arrivals - need to consider language issues.
• Harnessing enthusiasm (new arrivals) to make a difference in an apolitical way.
• Increasing community participation in governance through education, ‘community hubs’ (as a public sphere).
• Establishing a broader, non-commercial meeting place/community hub - a ‘village’ feeling,
• Structure of federation – three tier system of governance - is it appropriate?
• ‘Blame game’ between the three tiers; need to possibly merge structure? ‘Super councils’?; decentralise?
• Duplication of resources/positions as wasteful, streamlining delivery mechanisms for particular sectors.
• Address lack of efficiency in existing governance structures.
• Directly making different tiers of government responsible enables them to be held to account for their decisions and actions.
• Cross-over of responsibilities enables buck-passing.
• Need to redefine cooperative federalism, not necessarily change the structure. Attitudes and behaviour of governments influence the nature of buck-passing, not necessarily the structure, but structural improvements are possible.
• System has evolved, will to achieve can transcend structural problems.
• Constitution difficult to change (rightly), hence behaviour increases in importance
• Co-operative federalism can be achieved through: leadership/leadership style, grass-roots consultation, bottom-up model of governance.
• Charter of responsibilities, informing people of what each tier of government is responsible for.
• Multicultural policy needs to be clear.
• Confusion with service delivery of the public sector has been exploited on political grounds, exacerbating problems in the system.
• Nation fed up with the non-accountability of government, and the resulting ‘blame-game’.
• Acknowledgement of mistakes and transparency in government decisions, along with proper accountability for politicians.
• Possible need for longer terms of office, so political survival is not at the forefront of politicians’ minds and short-term thinking is discouraged.
• There is currently a window of opportunity for genuine co-operation between State and Federal (Labor) governments.
• African communities in Australia facing following problems: education, rent agents/housing, conception of Australian ‘community’, language, lack of representation/development. 
• Need Australian government to assist with housing.
• Cultural gap between communities and the authorities - need for teaching programs for adults (children are educated in the schools) regarding societal integration.
• Questions surrounding the nature of African immigration numbers – why reductions?

Recommendations:

1. Education and skills programs in Australian governance, legal and social systems are required to help build leadership into the future, particularly for newly arrived migrants; African communities require a higher level of support.
2. Summit community consultation process be adopted across Australia as a regular feature of community participation; provides good feedback at a grass-roots level; feedback also required to community from government as a result of these summits.
3. State, Federal and Local governments need to share responsibilities; roles need to be clearly defined and this communicated to the public; transparency and accountability in relation to funding responsibilities and decisions; e.g. health, education, infrastructure; fostered through co-operative federalism.
4. Local governments establish ‘community hubs’ modelled on a village concept with public and private space where communities can gather, shop and access services (e.g. family support services).
5. Fixed four-year terms for all levels of government to encourage long-term planning and policies.

INFRASTRUCTURE 

Facilitator: Dr Pieter Nagel 

Ideas for discussion

• Insufficient infrastructure to cater for the rapid growth of our local area
• Public transport frequency (age & safety) - sharing of costs
• Tertiary education infrastructure perceived as inadequate for growth of area
• Technological infrastructure – broadband
• Industry infrastructure versus education infrastructure 

Public Transport

• No seat belts in buses is a safety issue
• Poor frequency of transport links (poor service levels), overcrowding also perceived as a safety issue
• Perceived inadequate road planning & implementation
• Planning regime for transport infrastructure needs to be reviewed
• Modal integration (timetabling roads vs bus)
• Station stoppages to meet demand
• Cost of inaction in Gorton – the third-fastest growing area in Australia
• Eddington Report does not mention previous Victorian report on infrastructure
• Scope of Eddington Report based upon East /West connection
• Assessing expanded use of buses for public transport

Technology infrastructure

• Poor service levels for broadband in western region of Melbourne  especially newer areas
• Serious investment in infrastructure required in the west in order to address the risk associated with inadequate services, such as broadband and or existing services, under stress further at risk in extreme events
• Use of technology relates to community education  - under-usage of existing facilities
• Proper use of Technology as a tool (work versus relaxation), vision for the use of this technology. What are the possibilities?

Industry versus education

• Role and position of St Albans Campus of Victoria University in the future development of this community
• Tighter integration between expectation of education infrastructure in Melbourne’s west and the community, including integration with public transport infrastructure

Recommendations: 

1. Planning regime for general infrastructure requirements needs to be reviewed
2. Full review of public transport requirements in the western region of Melbourne (macro planning/service levels/frequency etc.)
3. Serious investment in infrastructure required in the western region of Melbourne in order to address the risk associated with perceived inadequate services, such as broadband and/or existing services, under stress further at risk in extreme events

RURAL AUSTRALIA 

Facilitator: Professor Peter Creamer 

Provision of health services

• Poorer health outcomes and life expectancy in rural and remote areas must be addressed. Correlates to lack of access to health services and metropolitan centres of excellence.
• Norway has a view that everyone is a citizen of the country no matter where they live and therefore their health will be looked after, no matter where they live. All Australians are equal and should be equally served in terms of health service provision.
• Need to address the shortage of medical staff in rural and regional areas – perhaps develop further incentives to encourage health professionals to practice outside urban areas, such as an extension of tied funding. But people need to be put into working situations that are tenable.
• Need to examine technology solutions, such as city-based specialists assisting via communications technology, that could help deliver health services in rural and remote areas.
• Examine the possibility of extending the remote area nurses program, to include regional and rural areas, so that nurses are trained to deliver expanded services.
• Development of the hub and spoke idea – regional centres of excellence servicing surrounding areas.

Jobs and economic development in rural areas 

• Young people are leaving regional and rural areas and moving to cities for work and lifestyle. Need to examine ways to keep young people in rural areas, particularly through the provision of stable employment.
• Farming is an area that could be tapped in a new way to provide new jobs – particularly in sustainable farming. Farms that are not sustainable could be bought and sustainable businesses with increased innovation created – sponsored by government.
• Incentives for high tech industries (e.g. computer software development facilities etc.) to relocate to rural areas to create jobs in non-traditional industries.
• Also develop more food-processing industries in regional areas, so that farmers and members of their families can access employment opportunities off farm in value-adding to their products.
• Disadvantage seems to be much more acute in regional areas, with pockets of high unemployment (relative to urban areas) – there is often a workforce available, but there is no employment.
• Need to come up with new industries for rural areas. Thermal energy in South Australia cited as an example of what can be done. Examine the possibility of rural Australia as a venue for renewable energy technologies – such as geothermal, wind, solar etc. – into the future. 

Land use and sustainability in rural areas

• Needs to be some sort of national audit on the effective and sustainable use of land in Australia. Look at what we grow and produce, where we grow it, and whether it's sustainable.
• Need to address the use of water in rural industries (e.g. abattoirs, cropping, grazing, etc.) to make sure that all that can be done to reduce, reuse and recycle is being done.
• Incentives for water saving practices and technologies. 
• Planting more trees in regional areas would have multiple benefits – native fauna habitats, reduction of carbon in the atmosphere, shade for farmed animals, etc. Need significant incentives for people to plant trees on their land.  

Infrastructure

• We need better broadband services to connect people and businesses/industries in rural areas to the new economy.

•  Perhaps we need to reinstate or strengthen community service obligations on Telstra (and on other service providers), so that non-profitable communities are not left out.
• Rural Australia is a huge area. In terms of planning for infrastructure, perhaps we need to break the area up into more manageable chunks and look at more carefully considered local targeting.

COMMUNITIES & FAMILIES

Facilitator:  Conor King 

Ideas for discussion

·        Disadvantaged people need better income support.

·        Better support for migrants and refugees – from before they arrive and then right through the process of integration.

·        We need to ensure that services are following population growth and demographic changes.

·        The need for development of a sense of community for 2020 – broadly defined.

·        Lack of coordinated support for organisations that support better integration and develop social inclusion. 

·        The overwhelming importance of ‘family’ and the need to ensure processes and support that help redefine a sustainable ‘family’

Notes:

• Pensions – amount for single pensioners is not matching the increasing costs of living etc.  Some people struggle to pay for medications and food due to increasing costs.
• Can we use the large budget surplus to fund people in need?  There is a lot of hidden poverty.  For example, there are many homes in our area that don’t have sufficient money to make ends meet.
• There is a need to increase support for carers of people with disability.
• Providers of emergency support get stretched in the community.
• The charity sector is taking over some government responsibilities.
• There is a lot a cultural diversity, which is not reflected in government decision making.
• Need to review the definition of ‘families’.  More single-parent and grandparent-centred families.
• Migrants and refugees need more customised services.  A one-size fits all approach is not good enough.  At the moment there is inflexibility around funding models.  For example, the job-network has fixed models which won’t necessarily work for all clients.
• Can we provide public housing for migrants and refugees?
• To build community and family we need to provide a better (possibly newer) services, such as transport. Service delivery sometimes does not match the growth of populations?
• A need for public spaces and shopping centres, where people can meet and inter-relate.  The notion of safe places for young people.
• Are there places where communities can develop the social capital that is needed?
• The need for community and a sense of community is critical.  In many families there is increasing isolation.
• Can we develop the idea of a total community – for all groups including young and older? The state government has a community capacity building model.  Can this be reviewed, refined and reshaped for national application?
• Funding for communities is poor.  Limited grants and limited opportunities for community programs.  A lot of the grants in the past have been in a very narrow area and therefore restricted access for groups such as sporting and other activities that are focussed on integration of people.
• Seniors groups, which have difficulty in accessing funding – perhaps because they can’t tick the range of “boxes” in government criteria.
• Often many migrants and refugees (or communities) are linking to religious organisations for a very diverse set of support issues.
• Can we create extra curricula activities to harness the creativity of young people and help develop communities?
• Schools may want this, but lack funding to develop such activities.  How do we get more students interested in participation?  We have lost the sense of community that used to encourage that form of interaction.  Families, schools, and students need to see the value in community to get engagement.
• Families can’t afford to support children being engaged in these activities.
• Shouldn’t we start encouraging development of ‘community’ from a younger age?
• A lack of spirituality (not religion, per se) may have a negative impact on community and children.
• In the western region of Melbourne, we have a scattered indigenous population.  How do we get the young people to be proud of their culture?  There is little funding to bring them together or support them in the schools.
• High insurance cost for community organisations – e.g. public liability etc.  Public liability issues are significant at schools and sporting organisations.  This is a good example of clear definition of a problem, but finding solutions may not be easy.  The challenge of balancing the rights of individuals counter-balanced by the challenge of continuing to provide activities that build social capital.
• Many community-based organisations don’t have the skills to identify policies and procedures and then become appropriately established in order to reduce premiums.
• Is there a different point of balance for liability that means that people need to take more personal responsibility?
• There is a need for more community transport in certain geographic areas.
• There is a lack of physical spaces for sporting activities – which could actually improve health.
• Many of the local sporting spaces are now run-down and it is a challenge for schools and councils to provide.  It will need Federal, State and Local governments to work together.  Can we require developers to provide the open spaces?  And can we water what we have?
• Traditional healing for communities that may be recent migrants to Australia.  Can the government promote services which are considered to be “safe” and of value to families?
• Young couples who are disconnected.  Particularly where males are now more isolated by the internet and are disconnecting from the community.
• Low participation rates for disabled people in the workforce.  People never hear, never get interviewed.  Invisible discrimination.  Can we have a process of positive discrimination for people with a disability?
• Is there a way to empower people to break free from income support structures?
• Lack of pre-preparation for key migrant groups who arrive and have genuine needs and then are not adequately supported.  Can’t we better plan for the future?
• This may relate to the need for mainstream and special services to be more flexible.
• High representation of young homeless males on Centrelink payments.  This needs to be addressed by integrated programs that help these people over the long-haul to make a transition.  People with disability are also over-represented and need special help and perhaps support for special programs.
• We need better family support services.

CREATIVE AUSTRALIA 

Facilitator: Susan Young 

Notes:

 Should Government sponsor/encourage the arts? 

• Australia is a small country and therefore a small arts market. There is a place for government to support artists through incentives such as tax breaks, income support, royalties. Note – these issues have particular significance for creative indigenous Australians.
• Australia has a relatively low level of Government investment in research and development (innovation) compared with many other countries. We should invest more seriously.

Is Australia a creative nation? 

• Creativity is encouraged in early childhood and primary school education, but later education focuses on vocational/career outcomes and doesn’t nurture creativity enough.
• The TER disincentive is an example of lack of valuing of creativity.
• Creativity is important in all subjects to develop skills in problem solving, innovation

What role does Government have in supporting traditional art forms & innovation? 

• The Government should offer:

Þ     More opportunities to share/display art

Þ     Reward and recognition

Þ     Recognition of art practice as expertise of equal value to that achieved through formal education (e.g. artists should not need PhDs to become academics). Contributions to culture should be recognised as valid academic practice. Therefore systems such as the REI should recognise performance and exhibition as research.

 Þ     Provision of tax and similar incentives to benefactors who support a wide range of creative activities, not just donations to large public institutions

Þ     Scholarship support for young people to acquire resources to develop creative activity (e.g. access to musical instruments). Incentives at senior secondary level would help develop creativity in young people.

Þ     Centrelink payments to practising artists.

Þ     Dedicated funding for infrastructure to support creative arts within schools and within a broad range of communities (e.g. theatre facilities in communities outside CBD) School funding should include support for copyright payments, etc.

·        The cultural value of art should be valued above monetary value. For example, the cost of maintaining arts teaching facilities is high and should be supported within the education system. Specialist arts schools offer opportunities at secondary level.

·        Emerging forms of arts should be recognised and supported (e.g. break dancing, graffiti). This should not necessarily be related to money but it should be noted that the Establishment cannot necessarily identify what forms or pieces of art may become popular and valuable in the conventional sense (e.g. tourists now pay to tour the graffiti in Melbourne’s laneways). Conversely, should we acknowledge that these new art forms may not emerge if Government intervenes? Perhaps they thrive in adversity?

 Creativity and innovation 

• Australian business needs innovation to underpin a robust economy. Education in creative skills can build innovation.
• Creative experiences can support learning across the curriculum and include problem solving, working in teams.However, the curriculum is crowded and militates against more flexible and creative learning experiences. There is a tension between teaching a body of knowledge and allowing time for individual creativity.

What is the place of games technology and other IT experience in developing creativity?

Should the arts be part of the academy?

• Maybe not. The arts previously throve outside the academy and represented rebellion against it.

 How should we support the Australian film industry?

Through initiatives such as:

·        tax incentives for investment in Australian films

·        support events such as Tropfest

·        encouraging Australian media to screen Australian content

·        expanding programs such as the ACMI program for young filmmakers.

 Is an Australian film one that represents Australian culture or is it one that is simply made here?

AUSTRALIA’S FUTURE IN THE WORLD

Facilitator: Bernadine Van Gramberg 

Notes: 

• Encourage young people to participate in recreational activities – boredom, not enough youth activities, establish youth programs,
• Education should foster different types of intellects; more tailored in content; focusing on a broader education that informs the way in which you interact with the world; skill building (critical thinking, argument).
• Importance of government’s role in higher education
• There is concern that we are losing our young people – need to work on retaining youth in Australia (rather than travelling abroad for university).
• Cultural issues stemming from a lack of Australian identity; lack of ‘history’; Australia on the cusp of forging its own (non-prescriptive) identity.
• Australia’s engagement with the world occurring through leadership (Prime Minister’s) to build relationships with other countries.
• Raising awareness about Australia, importance of negotiation, changing perceptions of relationships.
• Australia needs to be better connected with the world and fostering stronger relationships with the whole world (environmentally, politically etc.).
• Importance of cultural and economic ties with Asia - leadership regarding Australian identity.
• National education systems as centralised and uniform.
• Encourage trades/apprenticeships and vocational training.
• Concerns about a market-based approach to higher education and skills training - education is not just about industry needs.
• Concerns about young people as not ‘work-ready’ - fostering relationship between education and ‘work-readiness’.
• Greater emphasis placed on hand-on experience throughout tertiary education

Recommendations: 

1. Leadership on a global level.
2. Education needs to focus on students as individuals, which builds confidence in developing opinions, critical analysis and general knowledge of politics, legal and social and environmental systems.
3. Australia needs to move towards further developing a cultural identity, which builds our credibility in the world as a nation of migrants with an indigenous population and unique landscape and biodiversity, as well as our place in the region.
4. Australia needs to build strong relationships internationally on a range of common grounds, such as political, environmental and trade.
5. Secondary education should be co-ordinated across the country, with nationally consistent standards.
6. Australia needs to develop expertise in delivering higher education and vocational education domestically and internationally in a way that provides ‘work-readiness’. This needs to be based on the skills need in the future. Government needs to resource universities, schools and businesses to develop expertise in work-readiness.