Australia’s 2020 Summit currently taking place in Canberra is being described in the following way by Reuters:
Hollywood star wattage outweighed intellectual light at the opening of an Australian thinkers summit on Saturday, with cameras firmly focused on Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett and her newborn son.
The event is actually far more than this – the vast majority of delegates aren’t “names” and simply want to present ideas for a better Australia – but I share the cynicism towards the possibility of gaining anything positive from the talk-fest.
How does the new government actually decide which ideas are “worthy” and which are not? Having said all this, however, allowing different voices to be heard shows at least an element of inclusiveness (though may verge on simply re-enforcing elitism.)