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Voices of the Future Community Forum

Held on the 27th Jun 2019

at 6:30pm to
8:30pm


Add to Calendar 2019-06-27 18:30:00 2019-06-27 20:30:00 Australia/Sydney Voices of the Future Community Forum

Future generations and young people will suffer most from the impacts of climate change. Yet their interests are not reflected in climate change decision-making, planning or law. There are examples in other countries of institutions that address some of these issues, such as parliamentary commissioners or independent administrative officers whose mandates include consideration of the interests or wellbeing of future generations and young people. More research and public discussion are needed about appropriate climate change institutions and governance models, and particularly about representation of future generations.

Voices of the Future is a series of three events aimed at discussing the best way to represent the interests of future generations and young people in climate change planning in the context of Tasmania, and elsewhere. It is centred around a meeting of experts on intergenerational justice and environmental and human rights governance from around the world and Australia at the University of Tasmania’s Faculty of Law on Friday 28 June. This meeting will be preceded by a community forum and a youth workshop aimed at connecting experts in this area with Tasmanian's and raising awareness about these issues. Speakers at the forums will explore the experience with the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment in New Zealand, and other offices in Australia and elsewhere, and discuss possible ideas for Tasmania and nationally.

Speakers include:

  • Professor Jonathan Boston, Victoria University of Wellington, NZ

Jonathan Boston is Professor of Public Policy in the School of Government at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. He has published widely on a range of matters including public management, social policy, climate change policy, tertiary education policy, and comparative government. He has recently co-authored a report for the NZ Parliament: Foresight, Insight and Oversight: Enhancing Long-Term Governance through Better Parliamentary Scrutiny (Wellington, IGPS, 2019).

  • Peter Davies, Sustainable Futures Commissioner for Wales and chair of the Climate Change Commission for Wales. 

Peter Davies was Vice Chair of the UK Sustainable Development Commission in 2006, later becoming Sustainable Futures Commissioner for Wales and chair of the Climate Change Commission for Wales, playing a key role in the development of the 2015 Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act. Peter was awarded a CBE for his contribution to sustainable development in 2016. He currently chairs the Wales Council for Voluntary Action, The Wales Marine Stakeholder Group, the Size of Wales and Community Energy Pembrokeshire. He is a member of the WWF Cymru Advisory Panel, and is Community Custodian for River Simple, and Professor of Practice at University of Wales Trinity St David.

Joined by panellists:

  • Nicole Sommer, Chief Executive Officer and Principal Lawyer, Environmental Defenders Office (Tas) Inc,
  • Dr Anna Seth, local General Practitioner.

These free forums are opportunities for young people and the Tasmanian community to have a say on these important issues.