Knowledge Nation

An Agenda For The Knowledge Nation

Report Of The Knowledge Nation Taskforce

Chifley Research Centre, Canberra

Not to choose is to choose - TALLEYRAND

Published by the Chifley Research Centre - July 2001
© Chifley Research Centre 2001

This report was funded by the Chifley Research Centre. The Chifley Research Centre is supported by the Commonwealth Government through a grant in aid administered by the Department of Finance and Administration.

	Abbreviations
	Key Characteristics Of A Knowledge Nation
	The Knowledge Nation Taskforce
	Membership Of The Knowledge Nation Taskforce
	Summary Of Recommendations
	Introduction By The Taskforce Chair
	The Case For Change
	Australia - An Under-Performing Knowledge Nation
	What Is To Be Done? - Action Agenda
	List Of Submissions
	Glossary

Key Characteristics of a Knowledge Nation

1. A government that creates and promotes effective linkages between research organisations — such as CSIRO, the universities, Cooperative Research Centres and Federal and State Government agencies — to ensure an adequate national database, and an inventory of skills, resources and the environment (cadastre)(1). The purpose is to enable effective coordination of national and regional efforts to tackle major problems that threaten the nation’s viability, especially in regional and remote areas. Examples of such problems include desertification, soil salinity and acidification, pollution of rivers, and erosion.

2. A government that works imaginatively and creatively as a catalyst, encourager, information provider, infrastructure supplier, major customer, and example of world’s best practice.

3. A national strategy of ensuring investment in those key areas where it can establish a leading global position.

4. A twenty-first century education system that:

	provides all of its citizens with the opportunity to improve their skills and gain secure and well-paid jobs through properly funded lifelong learning and vocational education programs, including programs at the industry and enterprise level;
	makes every school — State and non government — a centre of excellence and provides all children with a quality education;
	has universities that attract the world’s leading researchers and teachers; and
	encourages fundamental research and the study of the humanities as well as applied knowledge.

5. An economic system based increasingly on innovation and the creation and commercialisation of ideas, and that reverses the serious imbalance in trade in high value added goods and services. This means:

	stronger manufacturing, extraction and service industries transformed by the application of new technologies and the re-skilling of their workforce;
	the development of industries in emerging fields such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, information and communications technology, and environmental management; and
	taking advantage of rapidly expanding export opportunities in service industries, particularly in education, health and environmental management.

6. Leading-edge telecommunications, transport and research infrastructure in our cities and regions and regional development as a core economic and social objective.

7. Policies that regard saving the environment as an opportunity, and promote sustainability. The application of knowledge to simultaneously promote energy efficiency and higher living standards and create more jobs.

8. A transformed national culture that emphasises knowledge, excellence and innovation and aims for this to be reflected in its international reputation. Like Ireland, Finland and Israel, our international ‘image’ must be transformed by creating an inventory of internationally recognised goods and services.

9. The use of knowledge resources to promote the public good, encourage access and equity, provide resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and overcome social, class, regional, ethnic and gender barriers.

10. The creation of a more challenging and creative environment to help reverse the ‘brain drain’ and assist us in importing the skills we need.

11. The strengthening of great national institutions such as the ABC, CSIRO, galleries, museums, libraries, the Australia Council, the Australian Heritage Commission, Telstra, Australia Post and the Bureau of Meteorology.

(1) Cadastre. We have adopted this unfamiliar term as a convenient way of describing a comprehensive National Inventory or Knowledge Bank. The Cadastre would provide a picture of Australia’s physical and human resources, both nationally and regionally. It would provide detailed access, for example, to material on the state of the environment, including details of water quality and availability, the extent and location of desertification, salinity and acidification of soils, health services, regional variations in life expectancy, research capacity, the availability and nature of employment, education levels and availability. The Cadastre would link the research bases of the Commonwealth and State, including the Census and the National Land and Water Resources Audit. Having the Cadastre would identify and quantify national problems and suggest priorities for overcoming them.

The Knowledge Nation Taskforce

The Knowledge Nation Taskforce comprises leaders from Australia’s education and research institutions, policy experts and economists from the knowledge sector, high profile business leaders from the information and communications technology (ICT), biotechnology and sustainable technology industries, and State and Federal parliamentarians who have a particular interest in developing Australia’s knowledge potential.

It is chaired by The Hon. Dr. Barry Jones, former Minister for Science and author of the acclaimed book, Sleepers, Wake! The Deputy Chair is Martyn Evans, MP, Federal Shadow Minister for Science and Resources.

The Taskforce was established by the Leader of the Federal Opposition, Kim Beazley, at the ALP National Conference in August 2000 to devise an action agenda for developing Australia as a Knowledge Nation.

The recommendations in the action agenda are those of the Taskforce, not the ALP, and are presented to Kim Beazley for his consideration and policy response.

The purpose of this action agenda is to define the Knowledge Nation and set broad strategic goals to guide policy development between now and 2010 for governments at the State and Federal levels.

The recommendations contained in this report are designed to build long-term advantage for Australia as a Knowledge Nation. They cannot be a quick fix. The Taskforce understands that the resources and priorities of governments change from year to year and therefore that the long-term investment we envisage will need to be adopted as a permanent priority for every Federal Government. The important thing is durable commitment and demonstrable progress.

The Taskforce and Kim Beazley’s office received offers to make submissions from prominent Australians and major representative organisations. A list of individuals and organisations that made submissions is provided as an appendix to this document.

Acknowledgements

The Taskforce would like to acknowledge the assistance given by Cindy Tschernitz of www.tellmenow.com.au and Gerard Castles.

The Taskforce and Chifley Research Centre thanks Peter Hall for his donation of funds to meet the costs of administering the work of the Taskforce.