Green Lantern wrote:
> "Sir John Howard" <sirjohnhoward@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>
news:7c6b7a0b-512a-4b93-8e3f-843338f76707@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23564255-2,00.html
> >
> > DELEGATES at the 2020 summit in Canberra have been telling each other
> > about the potentially calamitous problems and the terrific
> > op****tunities that Australia faces in the coming years - and that they
> > have just one day left to cover them all.
> >
> > High-profile delegates - and Cate Blanchett's baby - spent the day
> > talking at Parliament House about the big ideas they have for the
> > country's future. They have been split into 10 policy areas and after
> > a group phase, split into sub-groubs within those "streams".
> >
> > The summiteers have to come up with one big idea
>
> That it's a total waste of time ?
Ding! See the ****wit who wanted to harness the power of Sydney
Harbour on the news? How did that retard get an invite? Ha ha ha!
> > and three practical
> > ideas by the end of the summit tomorrow. One of the concrete policy
> > ideas must be able to be implemented at no cost or next-to-no cost.
> >
> > With some branding the event a "talkfest",
>
> and everyone else branding it a Gabfest.
Or a wankfest. KRudd must love soggy Saos.
> >it was argued the biggest
> > issue would be how the Rudd Government responded in accepting or
> > rejecting ideas put forward.
> >
> > The summit started this morning and will be over by 3pm tomorrow, with
> > the delegates having just four minutes to outline their ideas.
> >
> > "I think we need to ask ourselves whether 1000 people over a weekend
> > will be able to come up with anything meaningful," Opposition Leader
> > Brendan Nelson has said.
> >
> > Republic
> >
> > As expected, the republic featured prominently in the governance
> > stream, with most delegates favouring constitutional change in the
> > next two years.
> >
> > The group showed their sup****t for a rapid removal of the monarchy
> > from the Australian system, voting for a deadline of 2010 after a 12-
> > year timeline received lukewarm sup****t. Labor MP Maxine McKew, in
> > charge of that stream, urged delegates to show more passion for the
> > subject after their initial recommendations failed to draw even a
> > single "whoop" from the group.
>
> ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
>
> >
> > In the health stream, delegates sup****ted increases in taxes on
> > alcohol, cigarettes and junk food as well as the establishment of a
> > health inequalities commission.
> >
> > Another idea was to establish a "Healthbook" service modelled on
> > Facebook, which would allow users to share health information with
> > selected others.
> >
> > For those tackling indigenous issues, a treaty with the government was
> > the top priority. It would "formally recognise Aboriginal and Torres
> > Strait Islander people as the first people of Australia, involving a
> > legal agreement as to the status, rights and obligations of indigenous
> > people and the Australian government," said delegate Janina Gawler.
> >
> > Delegates also heard ideas for an indigenous future fund to be set up
> > to provide ongoing funding for future programs, as well as the re-
> > establishment of a peak indigenous body.
> >
> > Darker vision
> >
> > International relations expert Alan Dupont told the security stream of
> > the summit that climate change, pandemic disease, food, water and
> > energy scarcity and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction were
> > the key issues.
> >
> > "While it is less likely that states are going to use nuclear weapons
> > these days, the general consensus in the field is that if terrorists
> > were to get hold of them they would probably use them," Professor
> > Dupont said.
> >
> > Former defence chief General Peter Cosgrove said the traditional view
> > of national security as related solely to the defence forces had to
> > change.
> >
> > "So we have to build an independent international relations policy.
> > This is not code for no more alliance (with the United States)," he
> > said. "We have to have an Australian view which is specific to our
> > own future."
> >
> > Pace of change
> >
> > Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told delegates the point of the summit was
> > to acknowledge that politicians do not have all the answers and that
> > the government was instead throwing open the windows to let in some
> > fresh ideas.
> >
> > "Some of these ideas we will be able to embrace, others we will not,
> > and some we will take in part and change," he said.
> >
> > He said change occurred at a breathtaking pace, comparing today to 12
> > years ago, when there were 3 million fewer Australians.
> >
> > "Only one in three households had a mobile phone. We were barely using
> > email or the internet," he said. "Just 300,000 home computer users
> > were connected to the internet at home.
> >
> > "We had never heard of Facebook, we had never heard of MySpace, nor
> > even Google."
> >
> > Mr Rudd said the challenges the nation now faced were unprecedented in
> > complexity and intensity, with climate change a pressing concern.
> >
> > Supermum Cate
> >
> > Australian actor Hugh Jackman said he would focus on promoting the
> > arts in education, then praised fellow actor Blanchett for committing
> > to co-chair a meeting just days after giving birth.
> >
> > "I have given her my kids - she is looking after them for the
> > weekend," he joked.
> >
> > "Cate Blanchett is superwoman ... she is flawless as a person and I am
> > thrilled that she is leading our stream."
> >
> > Blanchett told the delegates taking part in the creative stream of the
> > summit she expected six-day-old Ignatius Martin Upton to benefit from
> > the ideas coming out of it.
> >
> > "He will be starting high school by 2020," Blanchett said. "He is a
> > lucky bugger - I hope."
> >
> > Opening the meeting, and occasionally interrupted by a vocal Ignatius,
> > Blanchett admitted bed had been a tempting option this weekend.
> >
> > "It is a measure of my belief in the weekend that I am here at all, as
> > you could imagine I would rather be in bed," she said.
> >
> > Bad mix?
> >
> > The chief secretary of the Salvation Army, James Condon, criticised
> > organisers for seeking to champion the cause of the oppressed, the
> > marginalised and the disadvantaged without actually including any of
> > their ranks in the summit's working groups.
> >
> > "Where are the homeless people? Where are the people who've been
> > addicted to alcohol? Where are the gambling addicts?" he asked.
> >
> > However, organisers are hopeful they have ended one criticism - on the
> > male-female make-up of the talks - by ensuring more women are
> > involved.
> >
> > ----------------------------
> >
> > Blanchett's baby apparently had plenty to say.
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