Aims and Roles

Aim

The overall aim of the Australian Collaboration is to help to achieve an integrated and sustainable ecological, social, cultural and economic environment in and outside Australia.

Roles

The four main roles adopted by The Australian Collaboration to further this aim are:

A forum for interactions between national community organizations

The Collaboration is a forum for interactions and exchanges between leading national community organisations, each working in distinct fields and representing distinct constituencies.

Advocacy

The Collaboration’s advocacy role concentrates on engagement with governments and others to try to change their longer term policies. The Collaboration does not generally take up political issues of the day in a public way, except to the extent that they are raised in its major reports and opinion pieces.

Research and Publications

The Collaboration’s research and publications concentrate on major issues in Australian society (the basic ingredients of a just and sustainable Australia, comprehensive reporting of all key trends, greater attention to the long term, the underpinnings of democracy, reconciliation, international responsibility, social issues). A distinctive characteristic of the Collaboration’s work is that it draws upon outstanding academic researchers around Australia.

Education

The educational role is closely related to the research role. The Collaboration has developed good contacts with schools and with lecturers working in fields related to its research reports. There has been much interest from schools and universities in the publications so far released.

International and national recognition of the challenges associated with the aims of the Collaboration

There is growing international and national recognition of the significance of the challenge associated with the achievement of sustainability (the new relationship required between social, environmental and economic concerns), a challenge with which the Collaboration is especially concerned. Examples are:

The Global Compact for world business leaders introduced by Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General in 1999, focusing on human rights, labour and the environment.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report Policies to Enhance Sustainable Development (2001): To achieve “development that lasts, based on linking the economic, social and environmental objectives of societies in a balanced way,” ..will require “greater integration of environmental, social and economic policy at all levels.”
Former Premier Steve Bracks, Victoria: “ Getting the balance right between economic, social and environmental goals is our greatest challenge.”
Former Premier Dr Geoff Gallop, WA: “For many years we pursued economic, social and environmental goals in isolation from each other. We have come to recognize that our long term well-being depends as much on the promotion of a strong, vibrant society and the ongoing repair of our environment as it does on the pursuit of economic development. Indeed, it is becoming obvious that these issues cannot be separated. The challenge is to find new approaches to development that contribute to our environment and society now without degrading them over the long term.”

The Australian Collaboration believes that it is well placed to help to address these challenges.