I am pleased to announce today that 11 leading Australians will form the Independent Steering Committee for the Australia 2020 Summit.
The Independent Steering Committee will be chaired by Professor Glyn Davis. The 10 remaining panel members will perform a critical role by each leading one of the 10 key discussion areas of the Summit.
This first class Steering Committee will also help select up to 100 participants for each of the key discussion areas.
The panel and their discussion areas are as follows:
* Professor Glyn Davis - Chair
* Dr David Morgan - Future directions for the Australian economy
* Mr Warwick Smith - Economic infrastructure, the digital economy and the future of our cities
* Mr Roger Beale AO - Population, sustainability, climate change, and water
* Mr Tim Fischer AC - Future directions for rural industries and rural communities
* Professor Michael Good - A long-term national health strategy
* Mr Tim Costello AO - Strengthening communities, supporting families and social inclusion
* Dr Kelvin Kong - Options for the future of indigenous Australia
* Ms Cate Blanchett - Towards a creative Australia:
* Mr John Hartigan - The future of Australian governance:
* Professor Michael Wesley - Australia's future security and prosperity in a rapidly changing region and world
Every Australian has the opportunity to nominate to attend this Summit.
Participants will be drawn from business, academia, community and industrial organisations, the media and include a number of individual eminent Australians.
If you wish to nominate for the 2020 Summit please download a nomination from www.australia2020.gov.au or call toll free on 1800 703 599. Nominations close on 29 February 2008.
The Government will consider the options papers that each of the 10 groups produces at the conclusion of the Summit and then provide a public response to them by end of 2008.
The Rudd Government's interest is in harnessing and harvesting ideas from the community that are capable of being shaped into concrete policy actions.
In addition to those participating in the Summit, all Australians will be invited to make submissions on each of the 10 future challenges. These will be submitted to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet which will act as the Secretariat for the Summit.
Dr David Morgan
David Morgan was Chief Executive Officer of Westpac Banking Corporation from 1999 to 2007, is a non-executive director of BHP Billiton Ltd, and is also chairman of the Australian Bankers' Association.
Prior to joining Westpac, Mr Morgan worked at the International Monetary Fund in Washington in the 1970s and the Federal Treasury in the 1980s, where he contributed to government policy for the financial sector, specifically supporting the floating of the Australian dollar as well as financial deregulation more generally.
Dr Morgan holds a bachelor degree in economics, and also received a Master of Science in Economics and a Doctorate of Philosophy (Economics) from the London School of Economics. He is also a graduate of Harvard Business School
Mr Warwick Smith
Warwick Smith was recently an Executive Director of Macquarie Bank, chairing the Telecommunications, Media, Entertainment and Technology (TMET) Group, and prior to this he was Global Head of the Bank's Corporate Communications Division for eight years.
Mr Smith served as a Federal Government Minister and in a variety of public roles in a Parliamentary career spanning 15 years. Warwick was appointed by industry and consumer groups as Australia's first Telecommunications Ombudsman, presiding over the industry as it entered a deregulated market. He is a former Chair of the Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) Limited and is currently a Board Member of the Sydney Institute.
Warwick has a strong focus on international affairs. He is Immediate Past National President of the Australia China Business Council and an Executive Committee Member of the Asia Society. He is also the Inaugural Australian Member for BOAO Forum for Asia and International Advisory Council, a member of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue and a Councillor on the Australian British Chamber of Commerce.
Mr Roger Beale AO
Roger Beale retired from the Federal Public Service in 2004 after 8 years as Portfolio Secretary of the Department of Environment and Heritage and nearly 20 years in senior positions in the Transport and Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolios.
He has recently Chaired the Expert Panel on Energy Access Pricing for the Commonwealth State Ministerial Council on Energy, advised the Australian states on Greenhouse Gas emissions trading and prepared a major report for the Australian federal Government on policies for Adaptation to Climate Change.
He is currently a Director of Connector Motorways Pty Ltd, member of the Australian
Heritage Council, Chair of the Advisory Board of the National Institute of Governance, member of the Australian Statistics Advisory Council, and of the Greenfleet Advisory Board. Roger is a lead author for the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Mr. Beale has a BA majoring in History and Law from the University of Queensland, studied economics at the ANU and completed a Master of Industrial and Labor Relations (Economics) at Cornell University. He was a Harkness Fellow from 1973 to 1975.
Mr Tim Fischer AC
After a 13 year career in State politics, Mr Fischer went into Federal politics in 1984 when he won the federal seat of Farrer for the National Party. He became Leader of the party in 1990. Tim Fischer was Deputy Prime Minister of Australia from 1996 to 1999.
In July 1999 he announced his resignation as National Party Leader, Trade Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. He retired in 2001 to spend more time with his family.
Since leaving Federal Politics he has taken on a wide range of roles and responsibilities. Most recently, in November 2007, he was appointed National Chairman of the Flying Doctor Service.
In 2004 the South Australian government appointed him Special Envoy for the Adelaide to Darwin railway, and he was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2005. In June 2007 Mr Fischer completed a three-year term as Chairman of Tourism Australia. He is a patron and ambassador for a number of charitable and not for profit organisations.
Professor Michael Good
Professor Michael Good is the Director of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, the past President of the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes, and the past Director of the Cooperative Research Centre for Vaccine Technology.
In 2006 he was appointed as Chair of the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. He graduated (MD PhD DSc) from the University of Queensland and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne.
Mr Tim Costello AO
Tim Costello became the Chief Executive of World Vision Australia in February 2004. Mr Costello studied law and education at Monash University, followed by theology at the International Baptist Seminary Rueschlikon in Switzerland, and a Masters in Theology at the Melbourne College of Divinity.
As a Baptist Minister, he established an active ministry at St Kilda Baptist Church between 1986 and 1994. From 1995 to 2004, Tim was Minister at the Collins Street Baptist Church and Executive Director of Urban Seed, a not-for-profit Christian outreach service for the urban poor. He was also the National President of the Baptist Union of Australia from 1999 to 2002.
In 2004, Mr Costello was awarded Victorian of the Year, in 2005 was Victorian Australian of the Year and also in June 2005, was made an Officer of the Order of Australia. He is currently Chairman of the National Australia Bank Community Advisory Council, a member of the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation, and a member of the National Aid Advisory Council. He has been voted as one of Australia's 100 National Living Treasures.
Dr Kelvin Kong
A medical graduate who helped establish UNSW's Indigenous Pre-Medical Program when he was an undergraduate, Kelvin Kong is Australia's first Aboriginal surgeon.
An ear, nose and throat specialist, Dr Kong is based at St Vincent's Hospital. As a board member of the Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association (AIDA) he co-wrote the AIDA Healthy Futures report, which defines best practice in the recruitment and retention of Indigenous medical students.
Ms Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1992. She won both the Sydney Theatre Critics Circle Best Newcomer Award (Kafka Dances) and the Best Lead Actress Award (Oleanna) in 1993, becoming the first person to win both awards in the same year.
Following the 1997 film Paradise Road, she has subsequently starred in 28 major film roles. Her work has been acknowledged both at home and internationally with AFI, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Academy Awards.
Cate Blanchett is co-artistic director and board member of the Sydney Theatre Company.
Mr John Hartigan
Mr Hartigan began his newspaper career as a cadet at John Fairfax and Sons. He joined News Limited in 1970 as a journalist on the Daily Mirror, rising to News Editor in 1978. After postings to The Sun in London and the New York Post, he returned to Australia as Editor on several metropolitan dailies before becoming Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph in 1989.
In July 1997, Mr Hartigan was elevated to Group Editorial Director, becoming the company's most senior editorial executive. He held that position until his appointment as Chief Executive Officer of News Limited in October 2000. He was appointed Chairman in 2005.
Mr Hartigan is also a director of News Limited, Queensland Press, Advertiser Newspapers, The Herald and Weekly Times Limited and FOXTEL.
Professor Michael Wesley
Professor Michael Wesley is director of the Griffith Asia Institute at Griffith University. Prior to taking this position he was the Assistant Director-General for Transnational Issues at the Office of National Assessments. His research interests include Asia-Pacific politics and security, UN peacekeeping, Australian foreign policy, and regional organizations.
Professor Wesley is the research convenor of the Australian Institute of International Affairs, a member of the Australian Member Committee of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, and a member of the Australian Research Council's College of Experts. Professor Wesley holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.