Communities in Control The Institute of Community Directors Australia

Disability rights activist and lawyer Fiona Smith presented at the 2005 Communities in Control Conference

“It took a pandemic for our State and Federal governments to admit that the JobSeeker payments weren’t enough to live off, that homelessness needed to be (and could be) tackled, and that the level of insecure work in this country is hitting crisis point. Despite this, every solution has focused on the short-term, with an expectation that everything will just go back to normal once the pandemic ends. But we don’t want to return to normal, we want change. Now is the time to have our voices heard. Now is the time to force our governments to do what is right."

“You don’t wake up and find a Utopia fully realised and perfectly formed. It happens a little bit at a time, unevenly, erratically, but if we know how to look, we can see glimpses of it emerging all the time, everywhere. Utopia doesn’t happen by accident. It must be nudged into shape through the hard work of many people and the many institutions that make up our society. What can we do to help? In this keynote speech, Jess Scully will discuss how we can harness technology and imagination to reshape the world to build a fairer and more sustainable future."

“If you take a look around the globe, you will find some remarkable success stories. Denmark will reach 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2030. Iceland has topped gender equality rankings for a decade and counting. Singaporean students beat almost all others in maths and reading. South Koreans will soon live longer than anyone else on Earth. What can we learn from these successes? And how can we apply these lessons at home to help shape a better future in our communities?"

“Play is not just fun and games. Our deep drive to play has shaped our cultures and our philosophies, our working lives, and our civilizations since we first started playing. No part of human history is untouched by the way we play. In this session, Daniel Teitelbaum will convince you that our drive to play is at the heart of how we make meaning, is essential to our self-expression, can be a guide to our values, and creates our communities. "

“Whether by intention or accident, economic ideas and analysis often diminish society’s expectations of what can be achieved. Such failings are not inherent to economics per se, rather they are the result of outdated economics dominating analysis and public discussion. The problematic nature of economic analysis must stop and make way for better theory and concepts to help us re-imagine what our economy and society could look like."