Media Release
November 5 2009
Developing a resilient Australia
Developing
a resilient Australia in an age of uncertainty will be the focus of a
panel discussion at UniSA’s final
Gift of Knowledge lecture for 2009.
Four researchers from UniSA’s Peace-keeping, Defence and Security
Research & Innovation Cluster will provide multidisciplinary
perspectives at the free public lecture at UniSA’s
City West campus
next Tuesday at 6pm.
They will work through a hypothetical scenario of a terrorist attack on
Australia.
Panel Chair
Associate Professor Wendy Lacey from UniSA’s
School of Law said
traditionally the key elements of Australia’s defence policy have been
keeping Australia free from direct threat, maintaining economic security
and fostering an international security environment.
“Australia is free from threat largely because of the deterrent effect
of our armed forces,” she said.
“Equally we deter other forms of threat to our security by means of our
political system, our economic system, our border security and our legal
system, among others.
“This lecture will focus on these deterrents, as well as the importance
of resilience, and practical measures that must be addressed now to
ensure that our deterrents remain both credible and able to recover
quickly if needed.”
Assoc Prof Lacey will be joined on the panel by
Professor Pal Ahluwalia, Pro Vice Chancellor of UniSA’s
Division of Education, Arts and
Social Sciences;
Associate Professor David Cropley from UniSA’s
Defence and Systems Institute;
and
Professor Paul Fairall, Foundation Dean of Law from UniSA’s
School of Law.
Assoc Prof Cropley will address resilience in terms of the immediate
responses of the military and emergency services. He will examine the
ability of the military and emergency services to cope with the
short-term demands that would result from a rapid series of disasters.
“Assuming that the military is already deployed in some operations
around the world, such as Afghanistan, and that resources could not be
recalled from such places overnight, how would the military and other
services cope based on what they have readily available?” he said.
Professor Paul Fairall will cover a number of issues including the legal
definition of a State of Emergency, what steps must be followed to
declare one in Australia, and the limits of emergency law-making. He
will also investigate whether there are constitutional limitations to
what emergency services can do and what threat emergency measures
present to civil liberties.
‘Developing a resilient Australia’ caps off a highly successful Gift of
Knowledge lecture series for 2009.
UniSA Deputy Vice Chancellor and Vice President: Research and Innovation
Professor Caroline McMillen said the 14-lecture series had been
extremely well received by the South Australian community.
“The Gift of Knowledge lectures in 2009 have been incredibly successful,
with a large number of attendees turning up for the series and many
lectures being filled to capacity,” Prof McMillen said.
Event details:
‘Developing a resilient Australia in an age of uncertainty’, final Gift
of Knowledge lecture for 2009, Tuesday 10 November, 6pm to 7.30pm, Allan
Scott Auditorium, Hawke Building, City West Campus. Register
www.unisa.edu.au/giftofknowledge
Media contact
- Kelly Stone office (08) 8302 0963 mobile 0417 861 832 email kelly.stone@unisa.edu.au