KG: Mr Rudd, thanks for your time this morning. This really is taking bipartisanship to a new level. You have got the former deputy Prime Minister in the Howard Government, former Howard Government minister Warwick Smith and the brother of the long serving treasurer, Mr Tim Costello there.
PM: Well, our attitude is that we want to build a modern Australia designed to deal with the challenges of the future, the challenges of the 21st century and that requires long term thinking. It also requires us looking beyond the typical political divide. These individuals have been selected on the basis of talent, merit and ability. We don't expect to agree with everything that they say, but that is not what this is about. It is about shaking the tree and pulling out the best ideas from the best minds across the nation on our future needs for the long term economy, health, education, our place in the world and other critical areas of challenge as well.
KG: Was there any difficulty in getting the likes of Tim Fisher to join you on this panel given he was such a close ally, close colleague of the former Prime Minister?
PM: Well Professor Davis from the University of Melbourne has principally done the liaison with the individuals concerned and I am sure he has had good conversations with each of them. I think what I see across this body of ten individuals across these key challenge areas for Australia's long term future is enthusiasm and enterprise and ideas for the future but also an ability to now work with Professor Davis in identifying our “summiteers” - that is, the group of 1000 who we want to come to Canberra on the weekend of 19 - 20 April, to spend that weekend identifying elements of Australia's future agenda.
KG: Is this bipartisan approach though, is it part of your tactic to try and achieve broader support for the initiative?
PM: Well I believe it's important that you select people based on ability and talent and merit not simply to select people on partisan grounds. That's not what it is about. What we want to make sure is that we have a genuine search across the nation for our best and brightest minds and that is where the summit of the 1000 is so critical. And I am sure these individuals, including the former coalition ministers will perform well in helping us identify the bright and the best. This is not about party politics. From the outset I invited the Leader of the Opposition and I believe this also demonstrates that we are not interested in some party fest here. What we are interested are the best ideas for Australia's future. And guess what - the Labor party doesn't necessarily have a monopoly on those.
KG: You have got some big names on there as well, I suppose the one that jumps out at you is Cate Blanchett the actor. Those sorts of people agreeing to it, is clearly going to help you, or lend weight to the whole process, surely?
PM: Well, Cate Blanchett will be a very good chair of this working group session which will deal with towards a creative Australia. Our creative industries in film, the arts, design, are fantastic. But how do we take that and platform it further? Take for example our current competitive edge in various parts of film, the extraordinary art being produced across indigenous Australia, how do we take what is there and take it to the next stage and unleash the creative and innovative potential of Australia even further.
On the future of governance for example, some would say we have taken the unusual step to invite someone from a news organisation, in the case of John Hartigan. But John Hartigan comes as chairperson of the group called Right to Know and Right to Know has been campaigning in recent years, both in relation to ourselves an the former government, about how we get the balance right between the transparency of government on the one hand and the needs of government confidentiality on the other. So Mr Hartigan's role as chairman of that group Right to Know, representing all Australia's principle news organisations, we thought was the right way to go as well.
KG: A lot of the names that we have been discussing, and that you have got on this panel are big names, can you tell us, give us a bit of an insight into a couple of the others, for example, Professor Michael Good and Professor Michael Wesley, a couple of names there that a lot of people probably wouldn't recognise, given the other people we are talking about. Give us an insight into what sort of contribution those gentlemen will be making?
PM: Well when it comes to the future direction of health and hospitals, we have massive challenges including the ageing population, the exploding cost of pharmaceuticals, the rampant growth in chronic diseases like type two diabetes and workforce challenges when it comes to enough doctors, nurses and other health professionals into the future. Professor Michael Good, who is Director of the Queensland Institute, past president of the Association of Medical Research Institutes, Director of the Cooperative Research Centre for Vaccine Technology and was appointed in 2006 as chair of the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. This is a person who has an extraordinary background when it comes to medical research, knows the field well. But Professor Good's challenge will again be to work with Professor Davis in bringing together the hundred of our best and brightest minds when it comes to the overall future direction of Australia's health policy.
On Professor Michael Wesley, Professor Wesley comes from the Griffith Asia Institute at Griffith University where he is director. He has been a person who has worked within government in the office of national assessments. He is a first class academic mind with new insights into Australia's place in the world and I believe, part of our challenge with this summit is to bring together a blend of continuity and change, of youth and experience and Professor Wesley brings both to the table. And I think it is important that we have new faces across the country as well. Not just some of the older more anticipated faces in each of these areas.
KG: Mr Rudd I know you have got to go to Tasmania but before I let you go can I just ask you one final question, your news release says that every Australian has the opportunity to nominate to attend the summit but given the heavy hitters you have been talking about and that are on this panel, is it really, is it realistic for the average working Australian to nominate and to get a guernsey at this summit or is that just a gimmick that line?
PM: No, we are dead serious about people putting their names forward and about putting their ideas forward. It's true when you have got a national summit of 1000 of our best and brightest minds that some people are going to miss out and some people may miss out unfairly because no process is ultimately going to be fair and totally representative. I understand that. But we therefore are simply putting our best foot forward to get it as right as possible. But for individual members of the community, they should nominate themselves and or, put forward their own submission of ideas for the future as well on the summit website which is www.australia2020.gov.au or our toll free number 1800 703 599.
We want people to bring their ideas forward and submissions for themselves. If they don't get to come as a delegate to the summit, let me tell you submissions containing their ideas will be considered by the panel chaired by Dr Davis and will be taking submissions from the general public as well for consideration for the future, whether or not those people actually attend as delegates or not.
KG: Prime Minister Rudd, thanks for your time this morning.
PM: Thanks for having us on the program.