HIGH FLYERS THINK TANK

Emerging diseases – Ready and waiting?

The Shine Dome, Canberra, 19 October 2004

Session 3: Focus groups report back

Chair: Dr Jim Peacock

I would like to tell you something about these Think Tanks. The Academy is really pleased with them, and very excited by them. We think it is a terrific opportunity to have some of the younger scientists of Australia put their heads together around some major issues.

I can assure you that after your hard work today and, for some of you, even harder work tonight and tomorrow in putting the report together, we will absolutely guarantee to take that report to the people round Australia that we think ought to see it and that ought to be taking notice of it.

Just as one example, a couple of years ago I was chairing a committee that came up with the recommendations to the government on the National Research Agenda: which are the important things for Australia to be looking at in research? That is, the priorities for our research. We had about 160 submissions, as I recall, from various bodies – universities and different laboratories and so on – but one was from the counterpart of this group, from a Think Tank that was held around national research priorities. And I can tell you, it was certainly one of the very best submissions that we had on the topic: very thoughtful and something that received a lot of notice.

So you are contributing to something that we hope will be really worth-while.

We are going to have the groups report back to you now with a summary of what were the major things to come out of their discussion. After each report we will have time for some questions and comments about that particular one. And then, after all four of them, we will probably have time for general discussion.