HIGH FLYERS THINK TANK

Innovative technical solutions for water management in Australia

University of Adelaide, 30 October 2006

Welcome

by Professor Kurt Lambeck

Welcome to the Australian Academy of Science's Fifth Annual High Flyers Think Tank.

This meeting is one of a series in which we bring together early- and mid-career researchers from a range of disciplinary backgrounds and different institutions to engage in active discussion about a topic of national importance. I think it is widely recognised that progress in science and technology often comes about from exactly this sort of situation, where you bring together a lot of different people with diverse ideas and ask them to think seriously about a particular topic.

That is what we ask you to do today, the topic being water – something that is not unimportant to Australia. In particular, we will see if there are any novel applications from science and technology that could be employed to make better use of the water resources that we have available. At the same time, we will try to identify any gaps in our knowledge and thinking.

The previous topics in this series have included safeguarding the nation, emerging diseases, and biotechnology and agriculture. So there is a history of important issues. It is also crucial to realise that this is not a workshop where we just sit and talk, because there are outcomes expected. These must inform our decision-makers about the current states of the field but also about the future directions our pursuits may take.

Previous workshops have led to reports for government that have been timely and instrumental in influencing policy development. In view of the importance of water, it is anticipated that the outcomes of this workshop will be at least as important as those of earlier ones.

The outcomes will form a report which will include contextual information, identify the major issues and the gaps in our knowledge, and recommend the ways forward. These will be developed from the formal presentations and from the breakout group reports and discussions delivered, during the day.