Editorial-10 January 2001


Nineteen Years and Counting

It was 1982, the Fraser Government still reigned and a callow youth of 50 published a book which he hoped would be a 'wake-up call' to Australia. Barry Jones had been in Parliament five years and Sleepers Wake! Technology & the Future of Work created something of a stir, at least in the book review sections of the broadsheets (an updated edition was brought out in 1995). 

Toward the end of 1984 the Hawke Government, Barry Jones as Science Minister, set up The Commission for the Future with much fanfare (the A$ stood above US$.80 at the time), while 1986 saw the dollar drop to 60 cents and the Treasurer use banana as an adjective.

Michael Quinn Patton  of  the Minnesota Extension Service-St. Paul wrote in 1987,  'The Commission for the Future represented a visible, nationwide commitment to become futures-oriented. The commission planned its strategies for a year before becoming fully operational in early 1986. 

Five major participatory, public education strategies are being used: conferences, seminars and workshops, public communication through print and electronic media, a clearinghouse on futures issues, and a community-based science and technology network. The goal of the Commission for the Future is "to foster the development of a productive, innovative culture in Australia, and to encourage all Australians to become involved in shaping their future." '

2001, the Sydney Olympics have come and gone, Australia has won its last 15 cricket tests (quite apart from anything else this may indicate a meteorological record) and the Howard Government is now the recipient of reports from the Chief Scientist as well as the Innovation Summit - covering as a matter of urgency - exactly the same ground. In the words of Yogi Berra, philosopher and former New York Yankee catcher, 'It's deja vu all over again'.

'Sleepers Wake, a Voice is Calling.'

Alex Reisner
Founder, Australian National Genomic Information Service (ANGIS)
Editor, The Funneled Web
areisner@bigpond.com