Summit Streams
Region - Angus Dawson, Partner, McKinsey & Company
No matter which way we look at it, the future of Australia is inextricably linked to the future of the Asian region (ASEAN Plus). Without dispute, the dramatic growth of the Chinese, Indian, and Gulf economies has helped fuel the sustained growth of our own economy. Increased ties among companies, universities and social networks help reduce the distance between our shores. This proximity, however, reminds us that the security issues of the region are also increasingly our own. Whether dealing with the threat of Islamic extremism, the refugee consequences of extreme climate events or the impact of failed nation states, we have to carefully consider our role and adopt policies that safeguard our growing ties to the region, without compromising our strong historical ties with the United States .
Health - Larry Kamener, Senior Partner, The Boston Consulting Group
There are three great correlates our secular society should take notice of: GDP, health, and happiness. Happiness is a significant contributor to health and healthy nations are more likely to be prosperous. The role played by preventative medicine within health systems is increasingly recognised as a way to avoid many unnecessary and expensive cures. Our ageing population also leads us to reflect on the affordability of healthcare in the future. Beyond public awareness of the benefits of striving for health and wellbeing, the challenge is to administer an efficient, universal health system, one that strives for world’s best practice.
Education - Gerhard Vorster, Managing Partner, Deloitte Consulting Australia
Varying political ideology has long been a mainstay of the education policy debate. However, there is growing consensus that Australia’s economic future is increasingly dependent on higher levels of education attainment at all levels of society, from cutting edge research to skills and basic training. Knowledge, skills and innovation are major drivers of global competitiveness and increasingly higher proportions of GDP, especially in developed economies. Investment in knowledge and innovative thinking is vital to Australia’s economic future but our schools and universities are demonstrating the impact of years of under-investment in the sector. Education is the quintessential long-term program for increasing productivity and building the economy – how to achieve this remains one of our greatest priorities and challenges.
Environment - Dr Simon Barrett, Managing Director, L.E.K. Consulting Pty Ltd
Climate change is a planetary issue, but each nation must play its own part. Per capita, Australia is one of the worst nations for carbon emissions in the world. We can no longer take for granted a reliable and stable climate system for future generations. Following the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, we can take comfort in the predicted minimal overall cost to society, provided we take immediate and decisive action. Society has begun to accept changes needed to accommodate this new reality: new business models are emerging, as well as entire new industries, and consumption patterns will change; even the way we live and travel will inevitably be altered. These changing circumstances can be as much an opportunity as a concern. We will need to apply the framework of sustainability to help answer various facets of the problem; how will water resources accommodate our mercurial patterns of rainfall, how will the rising population levels and their concentration in urban centres impact on our future?
Economy - Michael Rennie, Director, McKinsey & Company
Fallout from the US sub-prime mortgage crisis has been felt the world over, sending enormous shockwaves through global financial markets. Although the real economies of countries such as India, China and Australia maintain their underlying strength, they are concerned more about capacity constraints and the threats of inflation. Globalization over recent decades has resulted in the synchronization of world financial markets, increasing both correlated growth and risk. In recent months, the need for concerted action amongst central banks and finance departments has been emphasized across the globe. Still, some are losing faith in the win-win mantra of free trade; its former advocates witness key local industries eviscerated and moved offshore and people clamour for globalization’s unevenly distributed benefits. But to become complacent about beneficial new labour markets offshore is to avoid some very real challenges of increasing productivity and improving our record in industrial innovation. There are also examples of poor nations, especially failing states inured to the traditional approaches to alleviating poverty, to remind us that our own crucible of market freedom exists within both political and economic contexts, and that governments have both the power to create new markets and modify existing ones to maintain the benefits for which they exist.
Infrastructure - Dr Patrick Forth, Senior Partner, The Boston Consulting Group
Australia’s infrastructure is in a state of neglect putting Australia’s future prosperity under threat. It lacks the capacity to sustain economic growth and cater for the nation’s social needs. Current policy, strategy and investment levels are insufficient to meet the structural changes required in the coming decades. Urgent reform and a co-ordinated approach to infrastructure planning and development are essential to correct shortcomings. Principally: the dysfunction of Federal-State relations, particularly in relation to the co-ordination of infrastructure policy and development; the inconsistencies between Australia’s regulatory bodies and their overlaps in jurisdiction; and the barriers to investment in infrastructure. One of the roles of government is to plan and provide for the nation’s major infrastructure. Infrastructure projects – such as ports, freeways, and broadband projects – become the backbone around which the economy, markets and society orient themselves for their own ends. They reduce the common costs of doing business and living, and make societal and economic growth a possibility. Being one of the most highly urbanized nations in the world, we need to assess how we manage the complex infrastructure of our cities. The pipeline for infrastructure needs to be focused on the future, but never more so than in this rapidly changing world facing up to the limitations set by climate change, and the opportunities afforded by a world market screeching up its own value chain. A modern infrastructure network that is designed to incorporate sustainability challenges remains a significant benchmark for a place among advanced industrialized nations.
Society - Geoff Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, KPMG
Who we are as a nation determines what sort of society we live in; our values, our desired future, and the security of our place in the world. Australia is a relatively young country with many old and new stories. In a cosmopolitan age, a broader Australian culture can provide meaning for living in the bush, and can connect with indigenous communities, providing impetus for improving the living conditions of all Australians. Many communities make up Australian society and we need to ensure that no one is left behind as the country prospers overall. The challenge remains how inclusive we are of our poor, our youth, and of different religious, ethnic and cultural groups; but also how well we tolerate the intolerant. There is also the conundrum of dealing with family structures in the modern age, how we all bleed into virtual communities, and how all of us best deal with living in our proliferating cities. Our culture is often what we take for granted about ourselves and our country, but it can also be something we play an active part in creating. The arts play a big part in giving meaning to our lives. Music, film, literature, or the visual splendour of art and architecture can be a measure of our national identity and confidence.
Government - Geoff Allen, Director and Founder, The Allen Consulting Group
Our civil rights and responsibilities are at the political core of our culture. Our liberal democratic system of government, the values we live by, the structure of the federation, the role of COAG, and what we expect from democratic heritage in a world of competing political systems, are all issues that have opened up for debate. Moreover, the process by which these questions should be debated and decided is, itself, up for discussion. How we choose to answer these questions will, without question, shape our future destiny.