Jodie Campbell (Bass, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on the Australia 2020 Summit?

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This government is committed to building a modern Australia capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st century. That means securing a future for the nation and securing a future for working families. What we have done in prosecution of that agenda is decide to pull together the nation’s brightest and best in what we have called the 2020 Summit. We on this side of the House, unlike the government which preceded us, do not have the view that politicians have some monopoly on wisdom. When you roll across the country and speak to small businesses; large businesses; people in the regions; people in rural communities right across the nation; non-government organisations; academics—a term which seemed to be treated with absolute derision by the previous government; and those out there in the think tanks, you find they are all people of good mind and good heart who are concerned, with passion, about the future of our nation in an uncertain world. We welcome their ideas. We believe it is time to shake the national tree and invite all the talents and abilities from across the nation—including those opposite, led by the Leader of the Opposition—to participate, to bring forward new ideas and to together help shape the nation’s future.

We are not in the business of saying when you go out and consult the whole nation that there are right and wrong answers. If you wish to enliven people’s participation in the national debate, you have to be welcoming of it and not say that these views are welcome and those are unwelcome. People of good mind and good heart should be encouraged to come forth to the nation’s capital and participate. That is what we intend to do. That is why the summit will be on 19 and 20 April. So far we have decided to convene a gathering of 1,000 of the nation’s brightest and best. We have already got in excess of 8,000 nominations from across the country. Nearly 1,000 individual policy submissions from people out there right across the country have already been lodged with the 2020 website, www.australia2020.gov.au.

This, therefore, is going to make for a difficult challenge for the non-government committee which has been appointed to select 1,000 of our nation’s brightest and best to come forward. That committee will bring together 10 working groups, each of about 100. The leadership of those committees should be a matter of note and record here in the parliament. We have Warwick Smith, a former Liberal minister, teaming up with the Deputy Prime Minister on economic infrastructure, the digital economy and the future of our cities. We have Dr David Morgan—most recently of Westpac and, prior to that, of the Reserve Bank—teaming up with the Treasurer on future directions for the economy. We have Roger Beale AO and the minister for climate change on population, sustainability, climate change and water. We have Tim Fischer AC teaming up with Tony Burke on future directions for rural industries and rural communities.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would have thought that those opposite may have a positive contribution to make on these matters, not least of which perhaps on the future direction of our wheat industry.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Pyne interjecting

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Sturt!

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Maybe that is the forum where we will hear a view from those opposite. Professor Michael Good will team up with the health minister, Nicola Roxon, on a long-term national health strategy. Tim Costello will be teaming up with the housing minister—we have one; our predecessors did not—Tanya Plibersek on strengthening communities, supporting families and social inclusion. Dr Jackie Huggins will be teaming up with the minister for Indigenous affairs on options for the future of Indigenous Australia. Cate Blanchett will be teaming up with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts on building a creative Australia.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Pyne interjecting

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Sturt.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

John Hartigan from News Ltd will be teaming up with Maxine McKew on the future of Australian governance, and Professor Michael Wesley from Griffith University will be teaming up with the foreign minister on Australia’s future security and prosperity in a rapidly changing world.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Pyne interjecting

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Sturt is warned!

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is an exciting agenda for the nation’s future.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Pyne interjecting

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Sturt is warned!

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We believe in being positive in our engagement with the nation’s expertise, not rejecting of it. That is why we want the nation’s brightest and best to team up with us. That is why we have decided to embrace an approach which is demonstrably bipartisan, inviting two former coalition ministers to be party to this overall exercise. The overall program that we have put together will also be supported by a youth summit, which will be convened by the Minister for Youth on the previous weekend, when we will have 100 of our young people come to Canberra. It will be co-chaired with Hugh Evans, formerly of Oaktree. The really exciting thing is that, across the nation in the few weeks leading up to then, we now have more than 500 schools holding their own school summits—500 schools, from Christmas Island to Esperance to Geraldine and down to, I am told, a little town called Snug in southern Tasmania; I like the sound of a town called Snug. Those young people in their school summits will be feeding into the youth summit. The youth summit will be feeding into the 2020 Summit.

This will be a great event for the nation. We believe in harvesting the nation’s talents and abilities to bring forth the best ideas for the nation’s future, given the huge challenge that we in Australia face. Once the summit has convened, if we can from its gathering shake out of the tree another dozen good ideas for the nation’s future, it will be a well-invested weekend. By year’s end, we will respond to each and every one of the submissions which have been made to us by the good people of Australia and those participating in the summit. This is a good exercise in open government. I am surprised that those opposite react to it with such cynicism. Is it another case of flip, flop, flap? The Leader of the Opposition, who has been objecting vociferously about this and who, within 30 minutes of my announcing this some time ago, stood up and said he welcomed it, now two months later says he doesn’t really welcome it. We have seen a bit of that today. We are very excited about what can come forth out of this. We will not solve all the nation’s problems, but we intend to engage the good people of Australia, and all their talents and abilities, to make sure that we help craft a modern Australia, capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st century and securing a future for working families.

Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.