ISSN 1039-3498 | no. 60 | December 2002
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Kenneth
Myer Lecture 2002
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The Friends of the National Library of Australia (NLA) instituted the Kenneth Myer Lecture in 1990 as a major annual event in recognition of Kenneth Baillieu Myer’s outstanding contribution to the NLA. Ken Myer’s contribution included his appointment in 1960 as an inaugural member of the Interim Council of the National Library, his appointment as Chair of the Library Council from 1974 to 1982, and as a most generous donor to the Library’s Trust Fund as well as to many other specific Library programs. The underlying philosophy of the lecture is elementary: to provide an eminent Australian with a forum to make a significant comment on a subject of great importance. Such distinguished persons as a former prime minister, a former State governor, a Nobel Prize winner, and individuals outstanding in the fields of theology, business, politics, academia and science have delivered the Lecture previously, and this year was to be no exception. The guest lecturer for 2002 was the Hon. Fred Chaney AO, a man who has contributed substantially to the nation across two quite separate career paths; firstly as a federal politician, and subsequently through his commitment to education and Indigenous Australians. Fred practised law between 1964 and 1974, and it was during this period that he maintained a connection with the Aboriginal community that he had initiated during his student days, providing pro bono legal counsel for Aboriginal clients, and being a founding member of Perth’s Aboriginal Legal Service. After having served as a Liberal Party member of parliament for 19 years holding various senior ministerial portfolios, Fred resigned from federal politics in 1993, and was appointed Chancellor of Murdoch University in 1995. His profound commitment to the overriding value of education in society is reflected by his involvement with the Foundation for Young Australians and his endeavours as University Chancellor. Fred resigned from the latter position in July this year to concentrate on Indigenous issues, and in 2002 he was both a Deputy President of the National Native Title Tribunal, and Co–Chair of Reconciliation Australia. The topic of Fred Chaney’s lecture, ‘Achieving a Fairer Australia’, demonstrated his compassion for the disadvantaged in our society, his understanding of the ethics of fairness, and his obvious belief in an achievable social justice for all. He spoke seriously and informally, eloquently and warmly, with a passion for his subject that was tangible to all who were present. He very succinctly affirmed his position that it is the citizens of a nation who have the key role in achieving fairness, and in empowering government with the capacity to deal successfully with social rifts. However, he underlined clearly that government must assist willingly if a society is fully to achieve objectives of social justice. He also emphasised the positive value of interaction between public and private efforts to address social imbalances, and how such interaction produces better outcomes for a community. In fact, the core of his strategy is a community driven approach that recognises that the private, the voluntary, and the public sectors all have roles to play, and that each works best in reciprocal and complementary partnerships that reinforce one another. No one attending the lecture was under any illusion that this was a utopian fantasy being suggested; Fred provided a compelling and thought provoking vision that was above all realistic and steeped in common sense—one that was, in every sense, and in keeping with the title of his lecture, eminently achievable. Fred Chaney’s
Kenneth Myer Lecture for 2002 is available on line at www.nla.gov.au/events/kmlecture.html. |
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