[Aqualist] Science Meets Parliament

[Iona Flett]

Last month Stuart Pearson and I represented AQUA at Science Meets 
Parliament.  We both found it an interesting and challenging experience, 
and it gave us quite an insight into how parliamentarians view science, and 
specifically, how poorly informed some of them are about current research.

A longer report will follow in QA next issue, but here are some initial 
thoughts on how AQUA members could get political if they were so inclined:
-       Research relevant at the electoral scale is very attractive to 
ministers and senators.  The stories that are within landscapes and based 
on evidence that can be seen or described is a key part of our 
science.  AQUA should try and bring these stories to the attention of 
elected members and policy makers.
-       The two ways of making research interesting to politicians seem to 
be either highlighting the economic benefits of your research to their 
constituency or portfolio, or offering a solution to a problem in their 
electorate (and offering to talk to members of the public about it).
-       AQUA scientists bring long-term thinking to the decision-making 
process and offer insights into rates and process of change.  The corollary 
of that is anticipating possible futures and stretching beyond the comfort 
zone thinking.
-       There may also be a role for AQUA members in submissions to 
parliamentary committees.  eg During one meeting, Jennie George MP, Shadow 
Parliamentary Secretary for Environment and Heritage, said that following 
on from their Sustainable Cities report, the House of Representatives 
Standing Committee on Environment and Heritage is undertaking a new inquiry 
into a Sustainability Charter.  The purpose of the inquiry is to make 
recommendations to the Australian Government on how they might frame a 
sustainability charter that can be proposed for ratification at a meeting 
of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). Anyone with an interest or 
expertise in a relevant area is welcome to make a submission, and it does 
seem likely that there will be few submissions providing a long-term 
historical perspective on sustainability issues.
         Making submissions: 
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/documnts/howsub.htm
         Sustainability Charter discussion paper: 
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/environ/charter/discussionpaper.pdf

We would like to thank AQUA for supporting our participation in SmP.



Iona Flett
Dept. of Archaeology and Natural History
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
Australian National University
ACT 0200
Ph:     (+612) 6125 1010
Fax:    (+612) 6125 4917


Dr Stuart Pearson
Senior Knowledge Broker
Land & Water Australia
Level 1, 86 Northbourne Ave, Braddon ACT
GPO Box 2182, Canberra ACT 2601
phone +61 2 6263 6000
fax +61 2 6263 6099
<http://www.lwa.gov.au>www.lwa.gov.au